Endgame
by Confortare
Summary: When Frieza sends Vegeta, Nappa and Raditz to Earth to obtain the Dragon Balls for him Vegeta finds himself torn. He could chose to please Frieza to ensure his family's safety or he could chose to stand up against him. With the help of the Goku, Vegeta choses the latter. But somewhere in between his motives change; he no longer just wants to save his race, he wants to save her too.
1. The Quest

**BULMA AND VEGETA FANFIC.**

This story takes place in an alternate universe.

- Frieza hasn't destroyed Planet Vegeta (yet), but does feel intimidated by the Saiyans.  
- Goku was sent away from Planet Vegeta for his own safety; Frieza destroyed their village after he was informed that there was a protest, which involved much violence. Goku was sent to Earth in a spaceship. Raditz was at the royal palace, training with Vegeta at the time. To ensure Raditz had a good future, Bardock pleaded for him to be guard of Prince Vegeta.  
- Vegeta cares for Bardock and Raditz (in a comrade way). He promised Bardock to look well after his son. Because Vegeta never lost his family, he is not as bitter and evil as he is in DBZ.

AN: I don't own DBZ or any of the characters.  
May contain some similarities to the original anime.

* * *

_Once the game is over, the King and the pawn go back into the same box._

* * *

**ONE: THE QUEST.**__

The Saiyan Prince laughed. Frieza gave him eighteen months, but three days should be _more_ than enough for the Saiyan Prince to conquer the earth and its inhabitants. _They were weak, insolent creatures. They should feel honored that a superior race such as the Saiyans would set foot on this planet to conquer it_, he thought in silence.

"Nappa, Raditz... I think it's time." The Prince pressed the red button, making it able for him to open the door of his ship. The spaceship was round and just big enough for one person to fit in. It could sustain the nastiest of meteors and moved with an incredible speed.  
After a year of being stuck in that ship, they finally arrived on earth. The three of them put their scouters on and started scanning the area for any high power levels.

"Nothing," Raditz concluded. "Can you now tell us what Frieza send us here for, Vegeta? He sounded really serious about it when he called you to him."

"It _is_ quite serious, Raditz," Vegeta answered. He pushed the door of his ship open. "Frieza wants these so called 'Dragon Balls'. They can fulfill anything you wish for... at least, that's how the story goes."

Nappa froze. "You mean you're going to bring him the Dragon Balls, Vegeta?" Nappa asked, his voice high in fear.

"I'm not sure yet... Frieza promised me he won't hurt my family as long as I did everything he asked of me. Yet, I don't trust him with these Balls." He looked up to his big, tall, bald friend. Fear was showing in the prince his eyes, which caused Nappa to panic slightly. When Prince Vegeta was afraid of something or someone... _everyone_ should be afraid.

"Are you kidding, Vegeta?! We should wish the bastard dead! He's been suppressing all of us ever since he set foot on our planet!"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Vegeta said calmly, "we'll have to find the Dragon Balls first. Which will be damn hard since we have no idea what to look for. Let alone _where_ to look for them."

"We don't have to get to business right away, do we? Come on, let us have some fun!" Nappa yelled.

"Do whichever you please. Just make sure you'll be back here in _three_ hours. I will fly around, look if I can find anything about those Dragon Balls." And with that the Prince flew off, into the blue sky.

* * *

"You felt it too, didn't you?" Gohan looked up.

"Yeah, I sure as hell did." Goku let his hands down, also looking up. "What could it be?"  
"I have no idea... But whatever it is... it doesn't feel very good." The two took a break from their sparring session to think some more about the mystical power levels and, of course, to eat. As Chi chi and Bulma set up the table, Gohan and Goku took their seats.

"You need to chill out with the little guy, Goku! He's just a kid and you're training him like it's the end of the world! Give 'em a break."

"Evil doesn't take breaks, Bulma, so neither do we."

The blue haired woman sighed. "Saiyans... I'm afraid I'll never get you."

"Makes two," Chi chi muttered under her breath. "Take a seat Bulma," Chi chi said, as she sat next to her husband.

"Can't," Bulma said. She went to put on her jacket. "I need to get some materials for this new project I'm working on."

"Bulma!" Chi chi, Goku and Gohan called out. "You can't leave right now! You can't leave without eating, even if it's just one bite!" Goku continued.

"Sorry, can't do!" Bulma smiled as she reached for the door. "I'll call you guys later okay! Duty calls!" And with that Bulma Briefs left the house.

* * *

It was about six o'clock in the afternoon when Bulma had walked out of the ITM (International Trade of Materials). She hadn't found _everything_, but just enough to start her project. She made sure the metals would be sent to Capsule Corp tomorrow, meaning they'd be in her lab in about three days. Feeling happy with herself she walked into a smoothie bar three doors from the ITM. She ordered her favorite; Chocolate and Strawberry Disaster. As she opened her wallet to pay, she noticed a small picture of Yamcha in the corner of her wallet. Bulma smiled at the thought of her loved one, waiting for her at Capsule Corp.

Feeling even better Bulma decided to walk the two blocks to Capsule Corp. There wasn't anyone to be seen anyway, which meant no paparazzi either. She took a few sips of her smoothie as her thoughts wondered off – mostly to Yamcha. Her mother had been talking about marrying quite a lot lately... Of course Bulma knew that her mother had always wanted a grandchild... the only thing Bulma was afraid of though, was Yamcha is infidelity. They have been together since... since forever. Still, Bulma wasn't so sure about it all. She loved Yamcha with all her heart. It was just her fear that he would cheat on her again that kept her from marrying him. Or was it something else? She wasn't sure yet. Every time she saw Yamcha, or even a picture of him, she smiled. But there was also this nagging feeling at her heart. And she had no idea how to get rid of it.

"Oh well," Bulma sighed. Time was ticking, she was growing old every second. While men went handsomer every year, women didn't. Men get handsome, women get old. That's what she had always believed. Marrying pure out of fear of growing old of course was bullshit and Bulma knew this. But she had also always felt a fear of staying alone all her life. Seeing Chi chi and Goku together only made it worse.  
It was then that she noticed it. The man silently walking beside her. She pressed her bag against her chest and started walking faster.

"Oh, there's no need to be afraid! I just wanted to ask you something!" The man his voice was raw and husky.

Bulma looked at her left, looking straight into the man his dark eyes. He was beautiful, yes. But he also eyed menacing and dangerous. "What can I help you with, sir?" She kept her fear well hidden.

"You see, I'm new here. A friend of mine told me about these weird things, they're called the 'Dragon Balls'."  
Bulma came to sudden halt. Overtaken by panic she shut down

"I assume you know about them?" The stranger took a step towards Bulma.

She felt his hot, fresh breath burn on her face. "I honestly have no idea what you're talking about. I'm truly sorry." She sidestepped him and continued walking._ One block, Bulma... one block..._

"Are you sure?" His voice sounded. "Last chance to answer, woman!"

"I told you, I have no idea what they are!" Bulma yelled.

"Arg!" the man growled. "Do you even _know_ who I am?"

Bulma turned around, this time overtaken by anger rather than fear. "I could ask you the same thing, mister!" It was only now that Bulma saw the weird costume the stranger was wearing; it seemed like a battle armor. "I wish I could help you, but I honestly can't."

"Hmpf," Vegeta crossed his arms over his chest. The watch around his wrist beeped, letting him know the three hours had passed. Vegeta took one look at the beautiful woman. It was hard for him to look away, for her beauty almost consumed the Saiyan Prince. Without saying another word, he took off into the air. Disappearing as fast as he had appeared.

Bulma looked at the mysterious man in awe. "Goku," she mumbled. "Need to call Goku!"

* * *

_My _first_ ever DBZ fanfic and the first one I posted online! The first few chapters are always louzy, so please bear with me! :) Tips? Please, feel free to tell me!_


	2. The calm before the Storm

AN: I don't own DBZ or any of the characters.  
May contain some similarities to the original anime.

* * *

_Do good and good will come to you.  
_

* * *

**TWO: THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM.**

"Yes, Goku! He knew about them! And he flew!" Bulma exclaimed as she clearly remembered the stranger that had asked for the Dragon Balls.

"Babe, calm down. It's going to be fine!" Yamcha hugged Bulma from behind while planting kisses on her neck. "You're safe now," he whispered.

Bulma tried walking away from Yamcha. It was hard for her to talk to Goku while having Yamcha breathing down her neck. She didn't send him away though, doing that would hurt him. "I'll call you later, okay? I really need some rest Goku. You need it too. " Bulma hung up after both of them said their goodbyes. "You need to cut that hair of yours," Bulma smiled. "It's getting out of control!" She ran her fingers through Yamcha's hair.

"Don't worry about that guy, Bulma! If he ever gets near to you again, I'll squash him."

Bulma laughed lightly. "Sure you will, Yamcha."

* * *

After Yamcha had left – he had his own apartment – Bulma went to her dad. It was time for her to inform her father about the project she was about to begin. Ever since she found out about Goku his background story, she wanted to find the planet he was from. He knew nothing about it, only that he was sent away for his own safety, which meant that his home planet might still exist – just like his parents. Of course, in order to find this planet, she would need a spaceship. And making the _perfect_ ship for this quest was her secret project.

She had been collecting DNA samples from her best friend, determining he was a pure-blood Saiyan. With the telescope her father invented, she was able to see much deeper into space than anyone could ever do. Thus, she had the best construction of how the rest of the galaxy _possibly_ looked like. She had found herself stuck though, not knowing what to do next. That was why she decided to let her father in on the idea.

"So what do you think? I know it's still a little messy, but I've got it all ordered in here." She pointed at her head. "It's genius isn't it? Goku would love this! Seeing his parents and all!"

"Bulma," her father begin. "I don't think this will be as easy as you think it will be. You'll need a much better construction than the one you have, besides... his planet could be thousands of light years away."

"That's the thing father, it _could_ be thousands of light years away... Maybe it isn't?" Bulma sighed, knowing her father was right but being stubborn old Bulma, she refused to give in. "Besides, he deserves to meet the rest of his people. We owe it to him."

* * *

"Nothing," Raditz reported. "No one has a clue about those damn Balls! Vegeta, are you sure this is the planet?"

"Are you doubting my skills, Raditz?" Vegeta spat. "Did I hear that right?!"

"No, no! I was just... being stupid."

"Calm down Vegeta. No need to go all Prince on us."  
Vegeta sighed at their failed attempts to retrieve information about the Balls. "I'm afraid this quest will take longer than I originally thought." Vegeta held the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb. "We have no clue as to where they are."

"We'll find them, Vegeta. We never failed at any quest. This time will _not_ be the first." Nappa spoke, trying to put some hope in Vegeta's state.

"This isn't just about our record, Nappa," Vegeta looked up to his friend. "Frieza can't hurt my family. I cannot lose them."

"We won't lose them, Vegeta. That's for sure."

It was then that Vegeta decided that he would go looking for the blue haired woman. She definitely knew more about those Dragon Balls. The way she froze when he mentioned them was no coincidence. Obviously she knew about their power, there was no other explanation for her behavior. _Tomorrow_. _Tomorrow I shall find her._

"So what are we doing now?" Nappa broke the silence between the three of them.

"Rest. Tomorrow we will continue our quest. Perhaps we can use the scouters to look for high power levels... it would only be logical for those Balls to be protected by strong warriors."

* * *

The next morning the Saiyans split up again, this time for the whole day. Nappa went to look in the north and the east, Raditz went south and Vegeta went west.

_It might just take more than three days to conquer this bloody planet_, Vegeta thought to himself. He had no clue as to where the Balls could be hidden, which made him that much angrier. He recalled very clear where it was that he had seen the woman. She had left the biggest building in town, ITM, if he remembered correctly. "Blasted woman, I should have questioned her then."

He saw the woman on some kind of a machine he couldn't quite place. They looked like the televisions they had back on planet Vegeta... only they looked like the ones they had twenty years ago. "Proves they're as stupid as they look," the Prince mumbled. Fascinated by her beautiful face he kept watching the television.

"She's pretty, huh?" A man, about his age, said.

"No. Not really."

"Are you kidding me!" The man laughed in Vegeta his face. "You must be blind!" The man waved with his hands in front of Vegeta's eyes, - as if he were really blind.

Vegeta grabbed the man his arm in one movement and threw him out of his way, not paying any attention to him anymore. He walked into the store and demanded the name and location of the blue haired woman. After a few dirty looks and smirks he found out that her name was Bulma Briefs and that she lived at Capsule Corp, which was just two blocks away. "Victory at last," Vegeta smiled as he took off into the air once again.

* * *

Her father helped her with the construction of the spaceships. They weren't in a rush though, since the materials weren't delivered yet. That gave them plenty of time to do some more research about Goku's home planet.

"Pumpkin," her father began, "why is it that you're so determined about building this ship?"

Bulma sighed. She knew he would pop the question sooner or later. "I'm sick and tired of the prejudices people have about me. They should know that I'm not just a part of this company because you're my dad, it's also because I really _do_ know what I'm talking about. I've put my heart and soul in this company and yet nobody seems to see it. Plus, I owe it to Goku. He's my best friend and he deserves to at least get to know his family."

Dr. Briefs smiled at his daughter

* * *

_OMG, thank you sóó much, new followers! It fills my heart with joy when I see that I have another follower! Trust me when I say that soon there will be much more Bulma and Vegeta, it's just not time yet. I don't want this story to be like many others, I want it to be different and in order to do so, some things will have to take time ;-) !_


	3. The Storm

AN: I don't own DBZ or any of the characters.  
May contain some similarities to the original anime.

* * *

_You see, when you take life, you live in fear, because deep down you know that someday your life will be taken as well. We all have to reap what we sow, there's no way of avoiding that. When you harm others, you're really only harming yourself. It's simple; if you want good things to happen in your life, you have to be good._  
- Goku.

* * *

**THREE: THE STORM.**

_Yes. She was here._ He had this strange feeling in his chest, telling him the woman named Bulma was indeed here. He walked over to the gate. Vegeta tore the gate in halve, pushing the left side of the gate to the left and the right side to the right. This triggered the alarm.  
"Blasted humans," he muttered. Not scared of any of the policemen that came up to him, he continued walking along the path.

"Sir, hold your hands where I can see them!" One of them called. He was holding some kind of weapon in his hands. The weapon was aimed at the Prince.

"Is _that _supposed to frighten me?" Vegeta mocked. He kept on walking. It wasn't until he had almost reached the door, that one of the policemen walked over to him.

"Sir, you're on private Capsule Corps grounds here. If you will not leave immediately, I'm afraid we'll have to hurt you if you won't obey. I'll ask this one more time… Will you please leave the grounds?"

Vegeta laughed at the guard. A second was all it took for him to snatch the gun out of the guard his hand and crush it in front of his eyes. "Does this answer your question?" He said, leaving the rest of them stunned. He didn't feel like making a scene by killing everyone, so he kept calm. Besides, he was way too superior to be dealing with these mongrels. He focused only on the door and the woman who was supposedly behind it, eating or sleeping or watching television or whatever it was that humans did. With one kick he broke the door in halve. At this moment none of the men dared to even take one step closer to Vegeta.

"Sir, at the count of three we _will _shoot, unless you surrender!" Vegeta ignored this. "One… two…" Silence. "Three."  
The bullets felt more like a tickle. Only a lot at once.

Vegeta laughed at their failed attempt to kill him. He turned around, facing their faces that turned white in fear. "That's all you got?" He lifted up his left hand slowly. He spread his fingers evenly. He watched every one of them in the eye, before blasting a powerful energy beam out of his hand. He didn't mean to kill… just severely injure.  
_  
More of them could arrive any time now. __Time to move fast.  
_  
Vegeta entered the Capsule Corp building. It was bigger than he initially thought. Vegeta walked over to the stairs. "I know you're here. I could go out there and look for you… But I know you wouldn't want me to kill your parents, would you? I can sense that they're in their bedroom." He was glad he had taken the scouter with him. According to the scouter Bulma was on the first step of the stairs, just out of his eyesight.

The beauty hesitantly came down the stairs, with her hands up. "Please don't hurt them. I'm begging you." She recognized him immediately. And immediately she regretted the fact that she hadn't called Goku back to inform him about this dangerous foe that had knowledge of the Dragon Balls.

"I'll spare your family when you give me what I want."

"I can't do that… I can't give you the Dragon Balls."

"Then I'm afraid your family will have to suffer the consequences."

"If you kill them, I'll never tell you anything."

"Fine by me." Vegeta shrugged. "There have to be more warriors, stronger ones that know more about the Balls."

"How are you so sure of that? earth does not know strong warriors. No one knows anything about the Balls. No one but me," Bulma lied. "If you kill me, then there's no way of finding them."

"Hmm… since you're not planning on telling me anyway… I guess I can get rid of you then."

"It'll take you years to find them. You know that." Bulma went down the last few steps of the stairs and came to stand directly in front of Vegeta. "Kill me, if you think it'll solve your problems." Her heart was pounding like a mad man. She was terrified of this figure. But showing her fear would only benefit him, and she knew.

"Trust me." A smirk appeared on Vegeta his face. "It will." He closed the space between them by taking another step. Bulma in response stepped back and found herself trapped between the Prince and the wall. "Where. Are. The. Dragon Balls?" His patience was running out, and he wasn't very patient in the first place. Vegeta knew Bulma was right; even though earth wasn't very big, it would still take him a lot of time to find the Dragon Balls. He didn't know how many there were, he didn't know what they looked like nor where he had to look. They could be _anywhere._

Bulma opened her mouth to speak, which sparked Vegeta with hope. _Maybe she changed her mind? _

She looked him straight in the eye in a way no one has ever done before. In that moment he knew that she was not afraid of him, and that she would never will. Little did he know that Bulma was terrified to the bones. Terrified mostly of his lack of love. He _would _kill her parents, without a doubt. But him getting the Dragon Balls was a big price to pay for their safety. A price she was not willing to pay. Besides, her parents could be wished back with the Dragon Balls – if the man wouldn't obtain them first.

"Eat me."

"How dare you!" Vegeta growled. "I'M THE PRINCE OF ALL SAIYANS! HOW DARE _YOU_!"

_Saiyans_, Bulma repeated. "SAIYANS?" she screamed. Goku! Goku was a Saiyan!

"How dare you have the audacity to talk to me like that!?" He took one step back. "You'll regret that." He grabbed Bulma violently by her wrist, bruising it in the process, and dragged her outside. "You won't get away before you tell me all about the Dragon Balls. And if you won't, I _will _kill you." He threw Bulma over his shoulder and flew away as fast as he could. Just when they were out of anyone's sight, Vegeta heard sirens. "Probably the police looking for you."

"I can't believe this is happening to me." Bulma her voice sounded broken. "You let me go, now!" She hit Vegeta on his back, hoping he would loosen his grip.  
"You'll pay for this! I'm going to make sure you won't get out of this alive!"

* * *

_More coming up soooon!_


	4. Kakarot

AN: I don't own DBZ or any of the characters.  
May contain some similarities to the original anime.

* * *

_Monsters are real and ghosts are too. They live inside us. And sometimes, they win._  
- Stephen King

* * *

**FOUR: KAKAROT.**

_He was twelve years old, it was his fifth mission. They had just purged the planet and found some valuable metals and technology which meant they had to inform Frieza and hand the planet over to him to sell. Raditz, being the prick and pervert he was, stood towering above one of the female victims._

_Raditz chuckled, "what a beauty she was."_

_"How pathetic and a fool you are," Vegeta spoke._

_The eighteen year old Saiyan glared at the Prince."There will come a time, Vegeta, that you'll very much adore the sight of women, trust me."_

_"You're a disgrace and disgusting," was all the young Prince said. "I suggest you stop entertaining yourself and look for Nappa. We need to go back to Frieza."_

Frieza_, the name send goosebumps over his body. The young Princ stepped over the dead bodies of the inhabitants and headed for his comrade. As he walked past Raditz, he set his scouter on finding Nappa's ki. Raditz obediently followed as he didn't want to evoke the young Prince's anger._

_When they found their comrade, they informed Frieza, who then send a spaceship that would bring them to him. Of course, Vegeta knew, this was when he would get rewarded or punished. When they arrived, roughly six hours after leaving the planet, Vegeta was immediately summoned by Frieza._

_"Don't let him get to you, Prince," A twenty-five year old Nappa said._

_"Do not worry about me, Nappa."_

Frieza always gets to me, _Vegeta thought. Vegeta nervously followed Zarbon, Frieza's right hand and highest general in command, to Frieza's private chambers._

_"Here it is, Prince Monkey," Zarbon mocked. He knocked once on the door and opened it for him to enter._

_"Ah, Vegeta," Frieza spoke softly. Oh, how he hated it when the alien spoke softly to him. "How did the purge go?"_

_"Perfect. It can be sold for a fair price," the Prince said as he descended to kneel on one knee._

_"So I noticed. Isn't there something you should tell me?"_

_"No Lord, nothing."_

_"Sure, Vegeta?" The alien walked over to him, his slimy, long tail trailing behind him. With his black, long nails Frieza traced the contours of Vegeta's spine. "I saw something happened to you, through Nappa's scouter, the moment the fight started. Tell me, Vegeta, what was it that happened?"_

_This was exactly what he had feared. Those damn scouters made it possible for him to watch everything! Nothing went unnoticed! Vegeta's mind wondered off to the moment it had happened. At first he had no trouble slaughtering off all the inhabitants that were in his way – on the contrary, he rather enjoyed it. Until that feeling kicked in. The more blood spatted on his face and his armor, the more he was blinded by the deep red, the heavier it became for him to breathe. At one point he found himself crying and yet screaming in anger while he killed everyone that crossed his path. Crushing jaws, ripping their spines out of their bodies, ripping their limps off their torso; he did it all. It was his comrade Nappa that grabbed the Prince from his waist, away from the battle. He had slapped him a few times in the face, until he regulated his breathing._

_"Prince Vegeta, look at me," the elder Saiyan had yelled. __"_Look_ at me!" And so the Prince did. He looked into his comrade's eyes and slowly calmed down._

"What happened?" Frieza asked, bringing him back from his vivid memory.

_"Nothing," he answered, "nothing happened." His father. A man, almost identical to his father had he seen in the mass of soldiers. By seeing such a strong resemblance he thought of his father who had abandoned him, left him to die at Frieza's hand and never turn back to. He went crazy at once. He wasn't in control of himself; all the anger he had cropped deep inside of him had exploded into this action. "I was remembered of my father," Vegeta then shortly said._

_"Ah. The Saiyan King who gave you away so easily." Frieza went to stand in front of Vegeta. He placed one of his fingers under the Prince his chin and slowly lifted him up with that one finger. "Weakness is a sin, Vegeta. Show in once more and I promise you that I __will kill your father. Do you understand, dear?"_

_"Yes, my Lord."_

_"Good." Frieza dug his nails into the Prince his chin, deeper and deeper until he pierced right through it, into his mouth. Blood spread through the Saiyans mouth, entering his throat and pouring right through the whole Frieza had created, making it spill on the ground._

_Vegeta, terrified of the tyrant, kept quiet, even though he couldn't keep himself from choking on his own blood._

_At once Frieza pulled his hand away from Vegeta, making him fall on his knees and palms. "I expect you here tomorrow for your lessons in pain, Vegea. Have I made myself clear?"_

_"Y – yes, Lord Frieza," Vegeta spoke as he applied pressure on the wound._

_"Now leave."_

* * *

Nappa and Raditz hadn't arrived yet when Vegeta landed next to the spaceships. He took a glance on his watch; they still had a lot of time left.

"You see that boulder over there?" He asked Bulma. "If you scream, run away or try to contact anyone in whatever way I will do this to you." He shot an energybeam at the boulder, turning it into powder. "Understood?"

Bulma nodded.

"Good. You are to stay in this spaceship." He pointed at his own. "Until you tell me all I need to know, you'll stay here."

"What do you want them for? The Dragon Balls, I mean."

"That is non of your business."

"Can you at least tell me more about Saiyans? They sound interesting."  
Vegeta started to question this woman. Was she even sane? He had just kidnapped her. They were miles and miles away from her home. He was a ruthless killer, not afraid of taking away her life and yet she wanted to know more about Saiyans. Perhaps this way he could earn her trust. Perhaps this way she would eventually give in.

"We Saiyans live in a very far away planet, galaxies away from this one. The planet is named Vegeta, after my father, who named me after him."  
_  
So his name was Vegeta… Hmm, peculiar.  
_  
"We're a superior race, strong and smart." Vegeta his tail moved in excitement as he recalled memories of his home.

"What's that?!" Bulma said in disgust. "That tail! It's like Goku's!"

"It's nothing," Vegeta growled. "It's nothing. You know too much already."

"You haven't told me anything! Only your planet's name and that's not much information to go by. Plus you still haven't told me your motives."

Vegeta pressed his fingers against his temples. "You give me a headache, woman!" He opened the door to his spaceship. "I suggest you go in here and take a nap or something."  
_  
A nap? _Bulma thought. _I'm frightened as hell and he expects me to take a nap? I'll piss my pants in fear, that's what I'm going to do! _She decided to enter the ship anyway. Vegeta proved to be very powerful, and she didn't want to test him. She wouldn't tell him anything about the Dragon Balls though, that was for sure.

Several hours later Raditz appeared at the horizon. Vegeta, quite happy to see his comrade, stood up from the boulder he was sitting on and walked towards him. He saw Raditz' questioning gaze.

"What about the human, Vegeta? Did you finally fall in love!?"

"NO! No, I did not!" He yelled. "Ugh!" He slapped Raditz on the back of his head. "She knows more about the Dragon Balls, she just doesn't want to tell me _anything_. So far she hasn't budged. She might be the only one on this planet to even know of their existence. It isn't worth the risk to kill her and be left empty-handed. It isn't worth it to put my family in even graver danger."

"Seems like we're lucky then. I couldn't find any big power levels. I did some asking around too; seems like they're not very known. Figures; if they _were _known I bet the whole planet would be looking for those damn things."

"I doubt Nappa will bring us good news. Seems like this infernal woman is our only hope."

"Do you think she will tell us anything though?"

"No."

* * *

"Call Goku then! Maybe he will know more!" Yamcha yelled. "This can't be happening!"

"He's already on his way," Mrs. Briefs said, "just don't worry, okay? Bulma is perfectly capable of taking care of herself."

"Not if the dude took out ten policemen with _one _hand…"

"If he wanted to kill her, he would have, darling." Mrs. Briefs put a hand on Yamcha his shoulder. "She will be fine, I promise."

"As much as I want to believe that, Mrs. Briefs, I really doubt it." Just as Yamcha took a seat on the couch, Goku appeared with his Instant Transmission.

"What happened, you guys?! I came as fast as I could!"

"It's Bulma… she told me last night about this man that asked her about the Dragon Balls. She told him that she didn't know what he was talking about. Eventually he left. But today he came back and took her! She was telling you on the phone yesterday… She just thought it was weird since no one really knew about them."

"That _is_ bad Yamcha… that's really bad. I felt a strange power when I was sparring with Gohan yesterday. I think that's him. And if it turns out to really be him, we have a big problem on our hands."

"You felt that too, huh? Figures." Yamcha sighed. "I felt three though, which means there are more of him."

"I think it's time to contact Piccolo, Krillin and Tien… we might need their help."

* * *

"Nappa!" Vegeta called, "you're late!" The Prince crossed his arms against his chest as he scowled deeply at his comrade.

"Yeah, yeah I know. The whole city is full with cops! They're... looking... for..." He slowly stopped speaking as he looked at the spaceship behind Vegeta. "Hey, that's here! The woman everyone is looking for!" Nappa walked towards his Saiyan friends. "Why is she here, Vegeta?"

And so Vegeta explained once again about Bulma Briefs. He told him about their earlier encounter and about how she wouldn't tell him anything. "It's frustrating me to the bones! That insolent woman won't tell us anything! How are we supposed to defeat Frieza when she won't tell us where the Balls are! I promised Tarble to find them. I promised him he'd be safe!" Vegeta walked away from the two Saiyans in anger. "Damn it, Nappa," he whispered, blinded by his anger, "how are we supposed to save everyone!?"

"Don't blame yourself Vegeta!" Raditz said, in an attempt to calm the Prince down.

"Yeah besides, Bardock wasn't sure whether Frieza really _does_ want to kill us all."

"Stop fooling yourselves!" Vegeta faced the two of them. "Our numbers have increased sufficiently, we've grown stronger and smarter than anyone held for possible. And _that_ has caused Frieza to fear us. There's no denying that he _will_ kill us. The question we have to ask ourselves is _when_ he's planning on doing so. I won't let it happen, not as long as I live."

"It won't happen," Raditz implied.

Bulma watched the three men silently from inside the spaceship. She had opened the door, hoping it would allow her to hear what they were saying. She heard some names, like Tarble, Bardock and Frieza, but other than that she couldn't make out a word of what they were saying. She did notice though the way Vegeta had changed. He seemed at first to be ruthless, but in the presence of his friends he seemed more desperate than anything else. She really wanted to help them with whatever it was they were facing, but she just didn't trust them with the Dragon Balls.

"Hey... Saiyan men," Bulma hesitantly said. She was absolutely sure that Vegeta had called himself 'The Prince of all Saiyans' and that Goku was a Saiyan too; perhaps they knew each other! If there was anyone able to help them, it would be Goku!

"What is it?!" Vegeta yelled. The three of them turned around. "Unless you're going to tell us where the Dragon Balls are, I suggest your keep your mouth shut!"

"Hey, stop that!" She jumped out of the spaceship and walked towards the Saiyans. "I want to help you, but you're making it real hard!"

"Help? You know how you can help us!"

"I can bring you to my friend, Goku. He's a Saiyan too! Perhaps he can mean something to you."

"A Saiyan?" Raditz laughed. "Saiyans live on Planet Vegeta."

"He was found here an long time ago in a spaceship similar to yours. My father and I spend years working on it, trying to fix it. The technology was far too advanced though. That's how we knew that it was alien. Goku is a Saiyan, I'm telling you! Come to think of it..." Bulma watched the tail of the biggest guy of the three, Nappa, if she recalled correctly. "He had a tail too, once."

Vegeta his eyes widened. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Vegeta asked Raditz.

"Kakarot."

"Indeed."

* * *

_Soo much thanks to the new followers! I really enjoy writing the story and I really hope you guys enjoy reading it!_  
_As you can see at the beginning of the chapter, I'm going to include memories from our beloved Prince. I hope you still like the story, and please if you see any mistakes or have tips, feel free to tell me!_


	5. The Plan

AN: I don't own DBZ or any of the characters.  
May contain some similarities to the original anime.

* * *

_Only the dead have seen the end of war.  
_– Plato

* * *

**FIVE: THE PLAN.**

"Tell me where I can find your Saiyan friend," Vegeta demanded.

"I'll tell you when you tell me why you want the Dragon Balls," Bulma said, as she placed her hands on her hips.

"ARGH! You're incredible!" Vegeta called in anger. "I won't!"

"Calm down, my Prince." Nappa placed one hand on the Prince his shoulder. Nappa had been Vegeta's life long friend, and the only one who was able to calm him down. "I don't think this human will be much of a problem. Why not tell her?"

"Because it's none of her business!" Vegeta hissed.

"Yes, I agree. But she is the key to saving our people. Swallow your pride Vegeta."  
_  
It worked._ Bulma hesitantly walked towards the Saiyans, this time not fearing them as much as she first did. _Nappa seemed nice_.

"Sit down, human."

"My name is Bulma. Yours is Nappa?"

"Uh... yes," Nappa said, not really knowing what a better response could be.

Bulma did as was asked of her. She sat down on one of the smaller boulders, leaving the bigger ones for the others.

Once they were all sitting in a circle, Vegeta started to speak. "A few years ago a strong alien named Frieza came to our home, Planet Vegeta. Frieza is the head of the Planet Trade Organization. An organization that focuses on conquering planets and selling them, thus enlarging Frieza's power in several galaxies. When he set foot on Planet Vegeta he instantly noticed that the Saiyans were far stronger than any other race he had ever come across. And so he let us do his dirty work. He came to rule over us, almost enslaving us. The last years though, our numbers grew, we got stronger and faster. Frieza then started to fear us little by little. Bardock, Raditz his father," he pointed at the man to his right, "is a loyal ally of my parents; the king and queen of Planet Vegeta. He overheard Frieza talking to one of his henchman Zarbon about us becoming a danger. Bardock knew as no other that Frieza was probably planning on killing us all. Zarbon told Frieza about the Dragon Balls. How Zarbon came to know about them, nobody knows. Frieza gave me orders to explore planet earth and retrieve the Dragon Balls for him. Frieza still believes all the Saiyans are faithful to him. Of course, this is not the case. As soon as we obtain the Dragon Balls, a war will be set in motion. We _need_ the Dragon Balls to wish Frieza dead and save everyone back home."

Bulma let it all slowly sink in. They were trying to save their home with the Dragon Balls? "Don't you know that the power of the Dragon Balls are bound to their creator? They cannot wish someone dead. Especially not someone as strong as that Frieza guy. I'm sure that Frieza knows this, otherwise he wouldn't send you guys to get them."

"Then we'll wish for something else. Something that _will_ defeat Frieza," Vegeta then said.

"Goku can help you! I'm sure he can! He's the strongest guy on earth!"

"Kakarot," Raditz mumbled.

"Bring us to Kakarot, now!"

"You have to promise not to hurt anyone! We people on earth are not used to aliens like you."

"We'll try," Vegeta sighed irritable. "Now bring us to him, insufferable wench."

"What's gotten into you, Vegeta?" Nappa laughed,"you're usually not the one to ask for help."

"I'm not," Vegeta said in his low, husky voice, "he's our long lost brother. It's our duty to bring him home."

* * *

There was no way Bulma could get in contact with Goku since she didn't have her phone with her. Going to Capsule Corp was too risky, since the whole city was looking for her. She decided to go to Kame house; Goku and the others probably found out about her disappearance and Kame house was the only place all of them usually united. Bulma was just hoping she made the right choice by trusting them...

"Are we there yet?" Vegeta asked

"Almost there," Bulma answered. Since Vegeta was too proud to carry Bulma and Raditz to full of himself to do the job, Nappa was the only one that was left. He turned out to be the nicest of them, which surprised Bulma. "There it is!" She pointed at the little house located on a small island. Bulma was starting to doubt her decision though. _Was this the best choice? s_he asked herself. _Well... it's too late to go back now.  
_  
The three Saiyans slowly descended. Nappa gently put her down on the ground. The three of them followed Bulma to the front door. The four of them heard the anxious voices of Bulma's friends.

And then everything went dead silent.

Bulma lifted her hand to knock on the door, but seconds before her knuckles hit the door, it opened. It was her friend, Goku.  
"Oh God, Goku!" She threw herself into Goku's arms and hugged him tightly. "I'm so glad to see you!" All the fear she was feeling had vanished. She felt safe here, with Goku and the others.

"Jeez, Bulma you gave us all a pretty good scare!" Goku chuckled awkwardly as he rubbed his hand over Bulma's back. "I see you brought some friends with you..."  
_  
Right. 'Friends'._

"Right," Bulma mumbled. "I've got some explaining to do."

* * *

"So let me get this straight," Yamcha began, "you guys want to get rid of this Frieza guy?"

"Correct," Vegeta replied.

"And you want the Dragon Balls to do that?"

"Correct, once again."

"Do you think we're retarded or something!?"

"Yamcha!" Bulma warned.

"Yamcha?" Vegeta laughed mockingly, "who knew his name would be more disgusting than his appearance. You're a disgrace." The mood in the room immediately tensed after Vegeta's remark.

"Disgrace? I'm going to show you what a _real_ disgrace is!" Yamcha yelled as he stood up from the couch he was sitting on. As a reflex Goku stretched his arm, blocking Yamcha's way.

"We all know we'd end up wishing you back with the Dragon Balls, Yamcha. So I suggest you stay put."

"That's not true," Yamcha mumbled quietly as he took his place next to Bulma again. _Perhaps it would be better to shut up..._

"So, Vegeta. What is your plan?"

"Give us the Dragon Balls and we'll solve this as civilized men, Kakarot."

"I'm afraid I can't do that," Goku said, "first because we don't trust you and second because they cannot be used for another year."

"_What_, why?" Vegeta called out in anger.

"We used them a week ago to wish our friend Krillin back, who died in a tournament."  
_  
Of course!_ Bulma thought to herself, _How could I forget that!? _"Oh, God! I totally forgot!" Bulma exclaimed._  
_  
Vegeta sighed in disappointment, "great. There's no hope in defeating Frieza, then."

"All that time thinking we had a chance," Nappa spoke softly.

"Wait, wait!" Goku called. "I need to speak to you, Vegeta."

Vegeta suspiciously eyed the Saiya before finally agreeing. "Hmpf. So be it." Vegeta walked ahead of Goku, leading them out. "What is it?" he asked him once the door was closed.

"Are you sure about this Frieza guy?"

"Yes. Frieza won't stop after conquering our home. He's a danger for every living being out there."

"And my father... he's alive?"

"Yes."

"And that's my brother out there?"

"Once again, yes."

"Is he really _that_ strong, Frieza?"

"Trust me, if I was strong enough to kill him, I would've never come here in the first place."

"Jeez..."

"Now let _me_ ask _you_ one thing, Kakarot. Are you _in_ or are you _out_?"

* * *

"You're going to train for a whole _year_?" Bulma asked in disbelief.

"Yes, Bulma. And we've got a plan," Goku spoke, "I will teach Instant Transportation to Vegeta, so that he can transport us to Planet Vegeta. He will go there halfway through the year, to warn his father about our plan. Bardock, my father, will then put an army together with loyal and strong Saiyans that will help us take Planet Vegeta back. Frieza isn't expecting them back until eighteen months from now. Imagine how surprised he will be when he sees us!"

"One question, Goku," Piccolo spoke, "Why Vegeta? Why can't you transport them?"

"Because Kakarot doesn't know where the planet is," Vegeta answered. "He can't transport us without knowing _where_ to go and without being able to sense anyone's ki as guidance."

"Good point there," Piccolo's low voice sounded. "Sounds like a plan then."

"You can train in the gravity room I made? It can go up to 500 times the earth's gravity! It's great for training!"

"I need to teach Vegeta the Instant Transmission technique first, Bulma."

"We're going to need every help we can get. Frieza has some very powerful henchman, too. They'll try to make it as hard for us as they possibly can," Nappa spoke. "It won't be easy. And certainly don't expect to come back alive." With that the three Saiyans looked at the earthlings.

"I'm definitively in," Goku said determined.

"Me too," Piccolo spoke.

"Me too," Tien said.

"I'm fighting too," said Yamcha.

"Hmpf," Vegeta mumbled, "you'd serve better purpose by helping your women here. You won 't even be able to defeat my servants." Vegeta spoke as he put his scouter back over his eye.

"Take it or leave it, Vegeta," Piccolo said in anger. "You should be happy we're helping you."

"I don't need your help. Besides, the only reason you're in is because you're afraid of your own planet." It was only when Piccolo looked away that Vegeta took his menacing eyes off Piccolo.

After Goku made some jokes to clear the air, the warriors talked about strategies and plans. Bulma sat quietly thinking. This all sounded _very_ bad. It was crazy how they all rushed into this. She had seen Vegeta his power, and the fact that this Frieza monster was stronger than he was, _really_ frightened her.

Vegeta and Goku made plans about their training sessions, including Goku teaching him Instant Transmission. There was a clear distrust between the two though; especially from Vegeta.

* * *

_Okay, okay, I know that the story is kinda starting slow, but I promise that it won't be long now before the magic will start to happen!_


	6. Keep your Enemies closer

AN: I don't own DBZ or any of the characters.  
May contain some similarities to the original anime.

* * *

_Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift of God, which is why we call it the present. _

– Bill Keane

* * *

**SIX: KEEP YOUR ENEMIES CLOSER.**

Yamcha was the one that flew Bulma back to Capsule Corp.

"You know Bulma, I don't trust those guys... I don't trust them at all."

"I don't know Yamcha," Bulma spoke, "they seemed really desperate. And desperation often pushes people to their limits." She remembered all too good how Vegeta seemed almost scared when he was speaking to his comrades in the clearing, when he had just taken her from Capsule Corp. The pride Saiyan Prince suddenly looked more like a young, scared boy.

"Are you on _their_ side, now?" Yamcha questioned.

"Of course not," Bulma spoke honestly. "They scare the hell out of me. I don't want anything to do with them, but if they're here to save people, then I'm more than willing to help them out. Especially if it means saving Goku's family. Yamcha, think about it! More Saiyans!"

Yamcha did _not_ like the thought of that. One Vegeta was more than enough for him, let alone a whole planet! "If they're all like Vegeta, I'm afraid there's not much to like about Saiyans."

"I hope not," Bulma admitted. Vegeta and his minions scared the crap out of Bulma. "Just don't get yourself killed, Yamcha..."

"Babe," Yamcha whispered. He turned Bulma's face to his and kissed her lightly. "I'm gonna be fine! I bet I can take him out myself!"

Bulma laughed lightly. _That misplaced arrogance is going to get him killed_, she thought to herself. "Sure you will," she decided to say.

"Bulma Briefs, are you doubting me?" Yamcha joked.

Bulma suddenly became irritated with his ignorance. "Do you really have no idea what a threat Frieza is to us? You really don't understand, do you Yamcha?" Sure, she liked his boyish attitude, but right now was not the time! Right now was the time to be serious and everything but childish.

"Chill out, Bulma! I was just joking!"

"You're always joking."

"Fine, I'll stop then," Yamcha said, feeling his patience slip away,

And they remained silent the whole trip. It was only when Yamcha put Bulma gently on the ground at her front door that the two of them spoke.

"I'll call you later, okay?"

"Yeah, sure. Night," Yamcha said before he swiftly took off and disappeared into the night.

And of course... Bulma had no keys. She hadn't been at Capsule Corp since Vegeta took her. Which reminded her of the paparazzi. "No sign of them though," Bulma muttered to herself. She rang the doorbell until eventually her father opened it.

"BULMA, LOVE!" He yelled in euphoria, "YOU'RE ALIVE! YOU'RE BACK!"

"They didn't tell you?!" Bulma mentally cursed. _How didn't they inform my parents!_ Then again... her friends weren't the brightest people on earth.

"What do you mean, 'they didn't tell me'?"

"That's a long story, Daddy." Bulma yawned. "I'll tell you the whole story tomorrow. Can I come in now?"

"Yes, yes, of course, muffin!" Dr. Briefs pulled Bulma in and gently closed the door. "Get a good rest, Bulma. I'll tell your mother in the morning you came back safely."

"Thanks, Dad." Bulma gave her old man a kiss on his forehead before heading to her own floor. She was too tired to take all her clothes off and so she just jumped into her bed and pulled the sheets all the way up.

* * *

When Bulma woke up the next day, she woke up quite worried. She hadn't had this feeling before she went to sleep... she felt like she had forgotten something. Something very important. She decided to shake the feeling off and head downstairs to make herself some breakfast.

Once in the kitchen, she turned on the television. She was busy making coffee when she heard her father's voice. "Oh my God!" She turned the volume of the television up. "The press conference! I totally forgot!" She was supposed to attend it, along with some members of the board. It was about the new flying cars they were about to launch. "Damn it! How could I forget something like that!" The whole thing with Vegeta had claimed all of her attention, leaving none for the conference. "At least he's doing a great job," Bulma spoke, as her eyes stayed focused on her father. She did feel bad though, especially since she assured her father that she could handle it.

After having made her breakfast, she moved to the living room. She turned the television off as she walked out of the kitchen. She placed her plate with the toasts and the pancakes on the table in the living room and turned on that television, continuing where she left off with the conference.

Briefly after she went to sit on the thick, warm carpet on the ground, she saw it. She saw it from the corner of her eye. A person. She turned her head in the direction of the stairs, behind her. "Goku!" she sighed in relief. "Oh my God, you scared the hell out of me!" She shook her head in embarrassment. "You could _at least_ make some noise while transporting here!"

"Sorry, Bulma!" Goku scratched his head while laughing awkwardly – the way Goku always did.

"You want some pancakes? I made enough for the two of us!" She smiled at her friend as she raised the plate with pancakes.

"I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I have more important matters... that's why I'm here." Goku's face immediately turned glum at his own words.

_Goku saying 'no' to food... a crisis must be going on here. Is he dying?_, Bulma thought. "What is it, Goku?" Bulma's voice was full with worry.

"I need your gravity room thingy!"

"You're starting your training right now? You guys still have a year, y'know. Besides, didn't you want Vegeta to learn Instant Transmission first?"

"Well, he's a quick learner once he's angry!" Goku happily said, having forgotten about the food already.

"What!? What do you mean?" Bulma stiffened. "Are you saying that he's mastered it already?"

"Well, not _mastered_ but he already knows the basics... sensing nearby ki's and transporting."

"Wow," Bulma muttered, "that's unreal." _But it took Goku much longer... How did that monkey Prince manage to learn it so quickly?_

"I know, " Goku chuckled, pulling Bulma out of her thoughts. "But he still has a lot to learn though. He needs to learn to transport someone with him, since he has to transport all of us to planet Vegeta." Goku smiled, "but hey, I've got nothing to complain!"

Bulma smiled at her Saiyan friend. "You're too good for this world, Goku. Do you know that?"

Goku blushed at Bulma's comment, "why did I deserve that compliment?"

"It's the truth. And it needed to be said." Bulma stood up from the ground, heading towards her personal lab. "I'm going to get the Capsule, Goku. I'll be right back!" Bulma hurried towards her personal lab, which built after the compound itself. The main lab was practically the soul of Capsule Corp; it was her father's life work and one of the most important things to the Briefs. Bulma's personal lab was where she worked on everything non- Capsule Corp, like the gravity room and Goku's spaceship that Bulma was planning on working on but abandoned. Plus, she was planning on making them some special armor too and a blueprint for a time machine.

Bulma went to the drawer that contained the Dragon Radar and the Capsule of the gravity room and took out the little Capsule. When Bulma went back to meet Goku, she encountered an unpleasant surprise.

"This Transmission thing is frying my brain, Kakarot!" sounded Vegeta' s menacing voice.

"I already told you it'll go away!"

"Well, I want it to go away _now_," Vegeta said, as he rubbed his temples.

The two of them were caught off guard when Bulma arrived. "Did I interrupt your therapy session?" Bulma joked.

"Shut up woman," Vegeta remarked.

"Why is _he _here?!" Bulma frowned at Goku. Her happy mood was gone the instant Vegeta opened his foul mouth.

"Because _I _want to." A smirk appeared on Vegeta's face. He crossed his hands against his chest.

"There's _no way in hell _I'll give you this Capsule! Get out of my house, _now_!"

"Wait, wait, Bulma! Calm down, okay!" Goku walked towards his female friend. "Both of us need it to save our home planet."

"They can suck it! If all of them are like him, there's no point in saving it!" Bulma held the Capsule behind her back. She knew though, that they could obtain it in no time if they wanted to.

"That's enough! How _dare _you talk like that! I'm the Prince of all Saiyans! You insolent woman, I'm going to _kill _you!" An enraged Vegeta pushed Goku out of the way, facing Bulma. The rage was dripping off his face, but surprisingly she found herself strong and fearless for once.

"No you won't," she simply said. "If you ever threaten me like that, I'm going to make sure that you'll lose your fight against Frieza and your whole planet along with it." She walked past him, towards the backdoor. "'Cause you see, I'm the only one that can find the Dragon Balls in a matter of hours. Keep your friends close Vegeta, but your enemies closer." She opened the door and walked over to the empty spot in the right of the backyard.

"I don't give a shit about your life, woman. Remember that," Vegeta hissed. A scowl immediately appeared on his face.

Bulma simply ignored his remark and opened the Capsule, letting the gravity room out. _We'll see who will come crawling to me for the Dragon Balls._ "You press this button." Bulma pointed at a little square button at the bottom of the gravity room. "To let it in the Capsule again."

"Sweet!" Goku called out, completely oblivious to the tension between the Saiyan Prince and the scientist.

"Can I have a word with you, Goku? Just a second." She grabbed his wrist and pulled him behind the gravity room. "WHY IS HE HERE?" Bulma hissed, as soon as she was sure the creepy Saiyan wouldn't be able to hear her. "I don't want him here! For all I know the police is still looking for him and besides, every time I see him he threatens to kill me!"

"But you're pretty tough, Bulma! You didn't even flinch!"

"I almost _shit _my pants, Goku. He scares the crap out of me. _Literally_."

Goku blushed lightly, but laughed. "Jeez, I'm sorry… I really am. You do know he wouldn't hurt you, right? If he wanted to, he'd done it the moment he saw you. _Plus, _I'm here to protect you!"

"Thanks, Goku," Bulma smiled. Goku's word did reassure her a little bit. "I mean, he's cute and all, but he has to lose the attitude. It's totally ruining him."

"We can worry about his attitude later, Bulma. Right now, the only thing that matters is growing stronger. And food. But food always matters."

"Right," Bulma chuckled, "I should probably let you guys train… I'll check up on you guys later, 'kay?"

"Fine by me! Just bring something to eat, too!"

* * *

Three hours had passed when Bulma decided to check up on them. She had no idea what they were capable of, and so she had no idea what to expect. The closer she came to the gravity room the more sounds she heard and the more beams she saw through the small window. "Oh God, please," she mumbled under her breath. She knocked lightly on the door.

No response.

She knocked again, this time a little harder.

No response.

The third time she knocked, she put a lot of strength behind it.

No response.

"GOKU, VEGETA! OPEN THE DAMN DOOR, _NOW_!"

It was silent before the door finally opened. She saw a beat up, black and blue, bleeding Goku appear in front of her. And as if that wasn't enough, she saw Vegeta lying on the ground, panting like a dog. "What happened?" she whispered. She pushed the door further open, revealing the state of the gravity room. The power core was luckily intact, but some of the panels were missing. "Oh my God. _Three hours _was all it took for you guys to almost destroy it! You're lucky the core is still intact! I have to replace the walls and some of the control panels!"

"We're fine, thanks for asking." Vegeta stood up from the ground and walked away from Bulma who was coming his direction.

"Just get out. Both of you. Go inside, I'll be there in a minute." She didn't turn around to see if they actually followed her command. Instead she went to look around to see if more things were damaged. To her surprise she found that they were training under 100 times earth's gravity. Any normal person would've been nothing but a bag of bones under such high levels of gravity.

Bulma Briefs didn't spend much time in the gravity room. Leaving the two Saiyans in her house didn't sound all too good to her. She hurried back to the compound to set up the table and serve the food her mother had prepared. "I'm afraid you guys can't use the gravity room for a few days." Bulma watched Vegeta, who was putting on his Saiyan armor back on, wondering why he was putting his armor back on. "So you're gonna have to find an alternative."

Without saying another word, Vegeta walked out of the door.

"Hey, you're not staying?" Goku asked.

"No."

"We're just going to eat something, it's no biggie," Bulma spoke.

"I don't need your food. I don't need anything of you," Vegeta spat.

"Hey, pal _we_'re the one helping you out if you forgot!" Bulma spat back.

"No you're not," Vegeta chuckled, "you're just helping because Kakarot is and Kakarot is helping because his people need him. You're not helping _me_. As a matter of fact, maybe it's just better for you to shut up and go to your disgusting scare face weakling." Vegeta didn't leave any room to argue, for her turned away and flew into the air immediately after he finished his sentence.

"Can you believe this guy?" Bulma watched Vegeta take off in the air. "He's so full of himself."

"If my tummy was as full as he is with himself, I'd never be hungry in my life," Goku muttered to himself.

Bulma laughed at her friend. "Totally misplaced arrogance. By the way, how did he learn the Instant Transmission so fast when it took you much longer?"

"Well, I haven't slept. I trained him the whole night," Goku sighed while taking a bite of his pizza, "plus it took me a while to get whatever it was the Yardrats were saying. The technique itself is easy to learn, it just needs some practice to perfect it. It takes a lot of energy at first, that's why Vegeta left flying. And sensing people's ki is also very hard at the beginning."

"Hmm, just don't trust him, Goku. He's not to be trusted."

"We just want to save our home, Bulma. There's nothing wrong with that," Goku softly spoke.

"It's his way of working that bothers me. He just threatens and kills whatever he wants. He's full of himself and he thinks that he can get away with everything! He took out ten policemen and left them severely injured and risked getting caught!" Bulma angrily bit another piece of her pizza.

"I agree with you on that, but let's face it Bulma, we need him and his palls to help us. I don't know exactly how strong Frieza is, but if even Vegeta is fearing him he's strong. _Really_ strong. And it's only a matter of time before Frieza will find earth after destroying Planet Vegeta."

"You can transport your family here, right?" Bulma asked Goku, "why don't you just do that instead of fighting Frieza?"

"Because I feel like this Frieza guy isn't going to stop until he controls the universe. He will get to earth someday. Maybe not in our time, but I'm sure that if we don't do anything now, our children or grandchildren could suffer the consequences."

Bulma thought about that for a while and realized that her not too bright friend was actually right - as much as she would like to deny it. Frieza was something to be scared of, if he made Vegeta shit his pants. But Bulma belived in Goku. _If anyone can kill that Frieza guy, then it's Son Goku!_ The rest of the meal the two of them remained silent as Goku's words lingered in the air.

* * *

_I was wondering, since I have many chapters already written and ready to be posted, do you guys like it if I update more often and do you guys like long chapters better than short ones? Well, let me know and I reaaaally hope that you're still enjoying this as much as I am! _


	7. Trunks

AN: I don't own DBZ or any of the characters.  
May contain some similarities to the original anime.

* * *

_Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle._  
- Plato

* * *

**SEVEN: TRUNKS.**

_This time he remembered one of his most vivid and worst pain lessons he had ever endured. Vegeta was twelve years old. Usually Frieza would throw some energybeams at him, sometimes he would make Zarbon or Dodoria do it, and all he had to do as endure them until he no longer felt the pain or the need to scream. He usually ended up in a coma for a few days, or healing in the infirmary for about a week._

_But this, this was entirely different._

_He should have known it would be different the moment Frieza summoned him to come to the lab in the private area of the base. When the Prince arrived, he found only Frieza and Zarbon standing near an operation table._

_"There you are, Vegeta," Frieza spoke._

_"Ah, there the monkey is at last."_

_Frieza laughed at Zarbon's remark, but quickly composed himself. "Lay down on the table, Vegeta. We're going to try a different approach on you this time, since you're my favorite Prince."_

_Vegeta silently obeyed. He didn't say a word, for he knew that he would need every ounce of energy in him to keep him alive this time. He felt the cold, metal table through his armor. He learned the hard way to always obey and never be disrespectful to Frieza._

_"It's just an experiment, still. And since you've been doing very well on controlling your pain and emotions lately, I figured you would be the best to test this on!" Frieza happily said._

_"If you don't mind me asking, Lord, but what is it?"_

_"It's a drug called Nerothyrosis, it shuts the organs down and makes your veins feel like they're on fire." The alien excitedly explained._

_"Just temporary," Zarbon added, seeing the Prince his face. "It might last a few hours." The green creature bound Vegeta to the table._

_"That's what it's supposed to do... but since you're the first one we're trying it on, it could also result in something entirely different."_

Maybe dying was better than living like this,_ the Prince thought_, rather die peacefully than live in a constant war with myself.  
_  
With much excitement Frieza ingested the fluid into Vegeta's veins with what was probably the longest needle he had ever seen. The fluid needed no time before kicking in, since Vegeta immediately felt like he was on fire – everything was burning inside of him. His body started trembling, blood started to stream out of his mouth._

_"I think it's working Zarbon," Frieza spoke._

_He found himself lucky he had been strapped down, for he had gone mad with pain. He slowly felt his kidneys shut down, because the stream of blood had stopped going there. His fingertips, heart, stomach and all other organs still felt like they were on fire. It basically felt like someone was slowly and painfully cutting out all his organs with an old, rusty kitchen knife. He felt like he was about to die.  
_  
Maybe I am?

_He didn't know how many hours had passed by the time the pain had crawled away and he had stopped screaming. It had felt like dying over and over. The only organs that kept working throughout the process, were his heart and lungs, keeping him alive (barely)._

_By the time Frieza and Zarbon unstrapped him, he had no energy left in his body. His armor was soaked with sweat, his throat dry and sore, his mouth filled with dry blood. Nappa was summoned to take him away. According to Frieza all he needed was some rest. What Frieza didn't know though, was that the pain haunted him for the rest of his life. The memory haunted him in his nightmares, never leaving his mind._

* * *

_I'm a prince, _Vegeta thought to himself, _I'm supposed to sleep in a palace not a spacepod. _Vegeta pushed the door of the pod open with his left leg. He felt like he was suffocating with that door closed.

"Hey, you okay there?" Nappa opened his door too and looked at his prince.

"Yes, Nappa. I am fine."

"Nervous eh, boss?" Raditz' voice sounded from his spacepod.

"Nervous for what?!" Vegeta yelled.

"Traveling back to Planet Vegeta, warning your father about your plan and all."

"We still have a month before that will happen." The last time Vegeta had been home, was twenty years ago and he couldn't help but feel slightly excited to at last return to his home.

"Tell my mother I said 'hi', if you happen to cross her path!" Raditz called. Raditz hadn't seen his mother in almost a year. Guards of the royal palace where to stay in the palace at all times and therefore none of them got to see their family very often. Since Raditz was Vegeta's comrade when purging planets, he only got to see his mother and his father when they were off duty. Vegeta was the only one of Frieza's entire unit that had no permission to visit his home planet, on whatever condition.

"What makes you think I'll see her?"

"I don't know, maybe by coincidence."

"You know how I feel about coincidence."

"Yeah, yeah," Raditz laughed. "It's bullshit."

"I just can't wait to see Frieza's head on a stick," Nappa spoke darkly, "after everything he did to us, that's exactly what he deserves."

Raditz and Nappa continued talking about how they wanted Frieza dead and how they were planning on doing so. Meanwhile Vegeta was thinking about his home, his planet. Frieza promised Vegeta to keep his family alive as long as he obeyed him. Frieza had no clue though, that Vegeta had drastically increased in power – so did his comrades. And Frieza had no knowledge of their 'revolution'.

If everything went according to plan, Frieza would die. One thing kept him worried though; The Ginyu Force. The Ginyu Force was an elite force with the strongest warriors of the entire galaxy.

"I don't care who you kill," Vegeta started, "I kill Zarbon."

* * *

That morning, all of the fighters gathered at the spaceships of the Saiyans. Since they only had a month to go, they had to perfect their plan and eliminate all the weak spots. When Bulma arrived in her spaceship, they could begin their gathering.

"I'm sorry I'm late! But I've got this _great_ idea!" Bulma opened the door to her spaceship and invited everyone in. She went to stand by the others in the back of the ship. She had thought about the Rejuvenation Tank Vegeta had once mentioned and made some blueprints. "Look." She showed them her latest version of the Tank.

"What's that supposed to be?" Nappa asked.

"It's a Rejuvenation Tank! I suppose it's not exactly like the ones you have..."

"This looks more like a cylinder. Ours are more the shape of a ball. It looks adequate though," Raditz encouraged, eying his brother. He was dying to talk to him, but Vegeta warned his comrades not to get involved too much.

"You'll _never_ be able to build one, I do hope you know that. You humans are too retarted." Vegeta commented.

"Really Vegeta? Watch me!" She snatched the blueprint away from the table and rolled it up again. "We'll see who's going to be healed with _my_ Tank after Frieza beats _you_ black and blue!"

"Not me," Vegeta chuckled, "I'm going to walk out of this alive, with my partners."

"Heeeeeey, guys," Goku chuckled awkwardly, "let's... not do this... right now."

"Yeah, I kinda agree," Krillin silently said.

It was quiet for a few seconds then.

"So," Goku continued. "Did you bring the blueprint of the palace, Bulma?"

"Yes, yes I did." Bulma went to search through a pile of papers on the corner of the table. "It's... right... here..." She pulled another blueprint out of the pile. "Vegeta helped me with it since he's the only one that knows how it looks like. I tried to make it as accurate as I could, which was hard since he hasn't been in the palace for a long time."

"That's _really_ cool," Raditz mumbled. "It's as if I'm looking at the actual blueprint!"

"Glad to hear that." Bulma took a sip of the coffee she was holding. "Took me a while."

"In exactly a month from now my father is supposed to be done with any meetings, which means that there's no way anyone else is going to see me as long as he stays in the palace – which he normally does," Vegeta spoke.

"So, you transport to your father, tell him everything _and_ tell him to tell my father that he has to prepare an army to fight six months from then."

"_And_ you bring me a sample of the fluid you use for the Tanks. It could really come in handy if you get injured during the battle."

"Hmpf. Fine."

It was right then that they heard a sound coming from outside. The Z warriors hurried outside, followed by the Saiyans. What they found was something entirely different than what they expected.

A boy, around the age of seventeen stood in front of the Saiyan spaceships, smiling awkwardly at the group of warriors. He had a fragile posture, being quite tall and having a strange purplish hair color. He had a sword rapped onto his back.

"Hi... I'm looking for someone." He tried being as nice as he possibly could. "I don't mean any harm." The boy held his palms us, showing them he was unarmed, except for the sword.

"Who are you and who do you want?" Vegeta roughly asked.

"Calm down, Vegeta," Goku whispered to the Saiyan Prince.

"Don't tell me what to do, _Kakarot_!" Vegeta spat. "I don't follow anyone's orders," he silently added. Vegeta's eyes quickly wondered back to the boy standing on the empty field.

"I'm looking for Goku." The boy pointed at the tallest of the Z Warriors.

"Me? Why?"

"Because I need to talk to you."

"Why don't we just kill him? Even that woman can kill this weakling. I know birds with higher powerlevels." Raditz said as he rolled his eyes.

"I don't know about killing him," Bulma murmured, "he looks familiar."

"He's just a _boy_. Kakarot, you should go and ask what he wants," Raditz continued.

"But be careful, Goku," Bulma warned.

"I'll be fine," Goku chuckled. He flew over to the boy, not scared or feeling threatened at all. "So, what's your name, kid?

"I... uh, I can't... I can't tell you what my name is, sorry..." He smiled politely. "But, I'm here to warn you, Goku!" The boy eyed the other Earthlings and Saiyans in the background. "But we have to get out of their hearing distance... this is only meant for your ears."

"How do I know I can trust you?" Goku asked, this time serious.

"I'm a Saiyan, like you."

"Prove it."

The boy showed a smirk that Goku found very familiar. The boy took a step back and then placed his feet firmly on the ground. He kept his eyes on Goku while slowly raising his powerlevel, revealing his true power.

Overtaken by surprise Goku stood still, while watching the boy reach astonishing levels. "You can power down now, kid."

"Do you trust me now?" The boy asked.

"Yes, I trust you."

The rest of the group watched in silence how Goku and the mystery boy separated from the group by flying further away.

"Did you guys feel that powerlevel?" Picollo asked the others. "It's amazing," he continued.

"But he's still so young?! How's that possible?" Yamcha exclaimed.

"He's a Saiyan, you moron. Isn't that obvious?" Vegeta snapped. He was very intrigued by this mystery boy. _Who was he? Was he one of Frieza's men? Did Frieza send him here to kill him, Raditz and Nappa? But he doesn't look like a Saiyan though... is he a hybrid?  
_  
"So, kid, what is it you wanted to warn me about?" Goku asked the mysterious youth.

"It's about something that still needs to happen," he explained, "you see, Goku... I'm from the future and I'm here to warn you about a mistake you guys are about to make!"

"What?!" Goku laughed, "do you really expect me to believe that...? I mean, I don't mean to offend you..."

"Look, I get it... I understand. Vegeta is supposed to transport to his _father_, but what you guys don't know is that Frieza asked to summon him to his hideout. When Vegeta transported there, Frieza saw him! Vegeta then hurried back to Earth, knowing Frieza saw him... When he tried to transport back only a few minutes later, he couldn't sense a ki on Planet Vegeta. Frieza knew right then that Vegeta had betrayed him and so Frieza destroyed Planet Vegeta. That same day Frieza set his coordinates on Earth and traveled here. Vegeta and the others remained here on Earth, not knowing what to do but prepare for Frieza. Frieza though, came with an entire army. Vegeta died, you died, Chi chi died, everybody, Goku. Even you. It's because of the unexpected surprise, that Frieza has a brother, Cooler and a father named King Cold. Frieza alone is in control of 79 planets in your time, Cooler is in control of 256 and King Cold is in control of _at least_ 300 planets... After all of you were killed, Frieza was in control of 139, Cooler of 322 and King Cold of more than 400. They own all of the Northern Quadrant of the universe, Goku. And there's no stopping them."

Goku remained silent. He didn't know what to do or say. He just let it all sink in. "So what are we supposed to do?" He at last asked.

"Vegeta must transport to _your_ father, Bardock! He must get the fluid of the Rejuvenation Tank in order to help Bulma out! Also, Bulma's planning on making a _Saiyan Super Battle Armor_, making it harder for energybeams to destroy your armor. But in order to do so, she needs the original fabric of the armor. And I happen to know that the armors are made in the palace due to safety reasons."

"And how do you expect Vegeta to know about this fabric?"

"Bulma does! She needs to describe it to him with every detail, or she's going to have to go with him, Goku."

"Okay, okay," Goku sighed while rubbing his temples. "Let me get this straight... First we have to make Vegeta transport to my father and tell him about our plan, then he has to take the fluid and then he and Bulma have to find the fabric for the armor, am I right?"

"Yes, that's perfect."

"Okay... so, I listened to you and I believe you. Now you have to tell me who you are. My friends are going to want to know whether you are to be trusted."

"I thought you already trusted me! Besides, you can't tell them _anything_!" The boy seemed torn between two options: Tell Goku basically everything, or keep the timeline from changing any further and _don't_ tell him everything. _But mother told me Goku was to be trusted..._

"Just... tell me. Now, please." Goku smiled a warm smile to the stranger. "I won't tell _anyone_. It's your turn to trust _me_."

The boy relaxed a bit at Goku's smile."Fine, okay," the boy sighed. "My name is Trunks. I'm the son of Vegeta."

Goku's eyes widened in shock. "But that's impossible! How can that be? You just told me that Vegeta has no more than two and a halve years to live! How could _you_ be his sons?!"

"Well, my mother didn't die. Frieza didn't destroy Earth, he just unleashed all kinds of monsters on it, 'his pets'."

"How did he find the time to meet a Saiyan that would want a... child... with him," Goku said, "who is your mother, Trunks?"

"I – uh, I can't tell you anything anymore. I already told you too much! If I change this time too much, I might never be born. You have to promise me that you won't tell anything to Vegeta not even my name! Or I might end up being named Garth or something!"

"Hmm," Goku mumbled, "thank you very much Trunks for warning us. By the way Trunks, how _did_ you come here, to this time?"

"My mother built a time machine for me. She knew that it was the only way to save the Earth."

"You must have a very brave and smart mother then. She would be proud of you," The eldger Saiyan said. His curiousity started to grow more and more as to who Trunks' mother was.

"She's _very,_ smart and brave indeed." Trunks turned his head to look at the others standing by Bulma's ship.

"Do I _know_ your mother?" Goku tried. He couldn't help but ask as curiosity got the better of him.

"Uh... no, no you don't," Trunks awkwardly said.

Goku narrowed his eyes in suspicion at Trunks' tone. Goku wasn't all too bright, but he knew when someone was lying. "Who is it, Trunks! Aww, come one, you can trust uncle Goku!"

"Jeez, Goku." Trunks scratched his head and smiled at the Saiyan. "My Mom was right when she told me you never quite grew up"

Goku followed Trunks's gaze. And then his eyes suddenly widened in realization. "OH KAMI, IT'S BULMA, ISN'T IT!" He then placed his fist into his mouth, to stifle his laughter. It was no help though, as he ended up on the ground, laughing his ass off. "Oh Kami, that _is_ unexpected, kid. Now _that's_ what I call a surprise!"

By the time Goku had composed himself, Trunks was as red as a tomato. "It was just a one-night thingy, and knowing my father, he would _never_ admit any of his feelins..." Trunks silently said. "But I must go now, Goku."

"You're not staying? You could help us fight!" Goku said as he wiped the tears away and jumped on his feet.

"Nah," Trunks said, "You will be fine without me. Just make sure to spend every second training, improving yourself. Don't stop until you become Super Saiyans, Goku. The two of you were born for it."

"What's that? And who do you mean with 'the two of you'?"

Trunks didn't answer his questions though. He took off from the ground and took one last glance at the Saiyans and Eartlings standing by the pods and Bulma's ship as he spoke, "you'll see, Goku. You'll see." And with that the mysterious Trunks flew into the clouds, to not be seen again.

* * *

_Yesss, so that was Mirai Trunks! I just had to include him into the story! And it won't be long now before Bulma will invite a certain Saiyan Prince to stay at CC. *hint hint*_


	8. Saiyans in the House

AN: I don't own DBZ or any of the characters.  
May contain some similarities to the original anime.

* * *

_Men may have discovered fire, but women discovered how to play with it._  
– Candace Bushnell

* * *

**EIGHT: SAIYANS IN THE HOUSE.**

"Do you seriously trust that kid, Kakarot!?" Raditz yelled.

"Honestly Goku, you take things way too lightly sometimes... There are a lot of psycho's out there y'know... that boy could easily been lying," Bulma spoke calmly.

"Yeah, that guy is a total kook, he's cracked, Goku!" Yamcha exclaimed.

"Then how did he know about our plan, huh?" Goku threw back at them.

"Everyone could have heard us," Yamcha tried.

"Maybe he's one of Frieza's men," Nappa said. "Maybe Frieza found out some way."

"No," Vegeta spoke. "The boy is speaking the truth." All eyes were on the Prince now.

"How are you so sure of that?" Tien asked Vegeta.

"Because," Vegeta said as he looked Tien in the eyes, "nobody knows of Cooler and King Cold. _Nobody._ Not even my father. Or Nappa and Raditz. It's something nobody knows, but me."

"And how's that?" Nappa asked his Prince, slightly angry for not being informed about this little secret.

"I saw the three of them on Planet Rajeeba. I was there to bring some order to the chaos. I had done my job and I was on my way to Frieza when I saw them in one of the many rooms of the palace. It was then that I realized that Frieza was part of something much, much, bigger. Of course, I didn't see any of his family members as a threat, since I never had any knowledge of them. I've always kept it in mind, but never made it a priority."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Raditz asked him, "we have a right to know!"

"I never though they'd cause any trouble. We never saw them back home when there was trouble, so why now?"

"So it's true then," Goku mumbled, "we have to change our plan a bit in order to win."

Everyone's eyes then shot to the sky, where an unknown object – something spaceship-like – was floating. It glowed with a pure, white light, that illuminated the night's sky. Inside, was the mystery boy Trunks. He watched his friends, knowing that in his own timeline, everyone was long gone and five feet under the ground. But he had to do this. He _had _to warn them, to prevent _his_ future from becoming their reality too. He had finally seen his father. He was exactly like his mother told him he was.  
_  
Father. You're so tough and proud. Hard and cold, like a rock. But still deep down, your heart beats like mine does. I know you feel. I'm your son, and I'll always love you. I'm glad I got to see you, Dad.  
_  
Then his eyes met his mother's. His heart softened, tears welled up in his eyes. But he kept himself together. They mustn't know he was their son. They must never know.  
_  
Farewell, young mother. May the good spirits keep you safe.  
_  
He smiled softly to his young mother, Bulma, before waving shortly and disappearing into the dark night.

"Oh Kami," Bulma whispered softly, "it looked like he waved... _at me_."

At that moment everyone's doubts had been taken away. The young Trunks indeed had been right. He had come here with that timemachine, to warn them. And everyone knew right then and there, that they _had _to do something to save the whole universe from facing Frieza's wrath.

"So be it." Vegeta was full of anger towards Cooler and King Cold. He was mad at himself too for not having foreseen this. Why did that stupid brat have to show up, and tell them that they all would die!? Even _he_! The Prince of all Saiyans. A royalty. A warrior. That could not happen! That _would_ not happen. He would kill Frieza, even if it was the last thing he'd do. He would fight him, until his last, dying breath.

* * *

"Hey, Vegeta," Goku called. Everyone was about to go back to their homes, but there still was one thing Goku wanted to talk about with Vegeta. Since he was the Prince of the Saiyans, Goku thought that he must know all about a Super Saiyan. "That boy of today... he mentioned Super Saiyans, but I have no idea what they are."

Vegeta stiffened at Goku's word. "He mentioned a Super Saiyan? What did he tell you, exactly, Kakarot?"

"I don't remember anymore to be honest, I just remember the name." Goku boyishly laughed and rubbed the back of his head.

_Darn... should have paid more attention!_

The Prince of all Saiyan rolled his eyes and sighed angrily at his fellow Saiyan. He _really_ was an air-head. Vegeta then thought of his father and his words... His father had always pushed Vegeta into becoming a Super Saiyan. Becoming one, being the first one to transform into a Super Saiyan in more than thousand years, that was what he lived for. "Don't worry too much about it, Kakarot. A Super Saiyan is a legend. It's a Saiyan _so_ strong, reaching such enormous powerlevels, so overwhelming that the only way to maintain it, is to transform into a Super Saiyan."

This made Goku think. Goku hadn't told anyone that Trunks was Vegeta's son and as he promised he didn't even mention his name. But the fact that Trunks said that two people would turn into this so called 'Super Saiyan' did make him curious. "That's it? That's all you know about it?"

"Yes. There isn't much known about it, because no one has ever seen one."

"So it's more like a fairytale then?"

"NO, it's not! It is real. And I will prove it." Without saying much more Vegeta left Goku's sight to stand by his comrades.

_Stupid Kakarot._

Bulma watched as Vegeta walked away from Goku and took his place between his two bodyguards. "You know Goku, you could have shut your mouth about the armor thing. I've been working on it ever since you came up with your plan, and it was supposed to be a surprise!"

Goku chuckled, "well it wasn't going to be successful anyway! You knew you needed the fabric didn't you?"

"Yeah," Bulma said softly, "I just didn't want to bother you guys. I mean, going to Planet Vegeta with that creep Vegeta himself isn't really on my to-do list..."

Suddenly Goku felt guilty about pushing Bulma into going with Vegeta to his home planet. "You don't _have_ to go, Bulma! I mean, I don't think the armor is going to make much of a difference," Goku lied. He hated lying and he was terrible at it, but he'd do anything to make his friend feel comfortable. He wasn't going to make her do something that she didn't want to do.

"You know you're wrong, Goku. That armor is going to be ten times as strong as normal Saiyan Armor. Vegeta might be very proud of his race, and sure they're superior, but they sure as hell don't know shit about armor. That much I can tell you." Bulma crossed her arms over her chest. She was the only one that could make them this armor, and she was damn well going to do it. No challenge scared Bulma Briefs; that was for sure. Besides, she could get to the bottom of the Saiyan Prince. Now _that_, was what she called a challenge.

"Well it's up to you then to provide us some," Goku laughed, "I know you can do that Bulma. Show Vegeta what you're _really_ capable of doing."

"I want to help them, Goku. I really do," the heiress spoke, her eyes still locked on the Saiyans.

"What are you waiting for then?" Goku chuckled. He crossed his arms over his chest and watched his brother talk to Vegeta. "You don't need a reason to help people, Bulma."

Bulma then looked up at Goku. She watched how he watched Raditz and then decided to walk over to them. Goku was right; she might as well make good use of herself since she won't even fight. She often felt useless with these kind of battles, but if she'd help the Saiyans, she would also be doing something to safe the Earth – even though it was indirect. "Guys," she began. "What have you eaten the past five months?" She focused her attention on Nappa who had treated her the nicest the past couple of months.

"Just some reserve food from our planet. Why's that, female?" She was surprised that the big Saiyan actually answered her question. Even though he was the nicest, Saiyans were known for being anything but nice and hospitable.

"Because you've lost some weight. All of you." This time she eyed all of them. "It's not good. If you want to be at your best, you're going to need all the rest you can get. Look, if the three of you agree on staying at Capsule Corp, you can have your own floor _and_ I'll make sure you eat properly."

"Why are you helping us? Did my brother somehow convince you?" Raditz asked her, clearly suspicious.

"Doesn't matter. We don't need your help, woman." Vegeta kept his eyes locked on Bulma's.

"Yes you do, Vegeta. Just shut up and accept it, okay? Because I'm not offering it again. You can train, you can eat and you can sleep at Capsule Corp. What more do you guys need?"

"Well, guys," Nappa looked at his comrades. "It wouldn't do us any harm, right?"

"Plus, you guys can train in the gravity room! I don't see why you wouldn't agree on this." She really couldn't; there were no drawbacks for them, whatsoever.

"Raditz, Nappa, a minute," Vegeta ordered.

"Can I...?" Raditz nodded at his brother.

"Yes, you can speak to him," Vegeta sighed heavily.

With a slight smile plastered on his face Raditz walked over to his brother to talk to him – it had been years since they last did. Nappa followed him.

"Why are you helping us, woman?" Vegeta spoke when he was sure nobody would hear them.

"Look, Vegeta. I would appreciate it if you call me by name like I call you by _your_ name."

"The way I call you is not debatable. Woman. Would you answer my question now?"

Bulma rolled her eyes at Vegeta. "I'm helping you because I know what it is like to be completely alone. You're not fooling me." She took one step closer to him. "I can see the fear in your eyes when you talk about Frieza. I can see the fear of losing your loved ones. I can see it because I know what it feels like. You don't have to act all tough you know. Here on Earth nobody cares, down here you're not a Prince."

Vegeta looked at her in silence. He was absolutely baffled at her audacity. Did she even _know _who she was talking to?! Apparently not, for she'd be kissing his boots! "I don't know what you're talking about, woman." He walked over to her in silence. His onyx eyes were colder and harder than they'd ever been. He towered above her, looking more menacing that anyone Bulma had ever seen. "But if I were you I would shut up now. Woman."

Bulma didn't look away though. She _loved_ challenges. And Vegeta was her biggest one. "Of course you don't," Bulma said, completely ignoring his last remark. "Let me tell you one thing Vegeta; you don't need a reason to help people. Maybe one day, when I'm the one that's in trouble, you'll do the same thing for me."

Vegeta snorted as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I would never, woman," he then said, her remark long forgotten

"Fine then!" She exclaimed, "But just accept the offer already!"

Vegeta thought her offer through for a last time. He would get to train, he would have a bed and last but certainly not least he would have proper _food_."Fine." Vegeta at last smirked at the woman. "Because you _so_ insist, woman."

Even though he had been an absolute jerk, Bulma didn't expect to feel the way she did. She felt good, really good. She now realized that Goku was right. This felt much better than arguing with him all the time. "I have some Capsules in my ship for your own spaceships." She nodded at her own big spaceship a few feet away, where the Capsules were stored. Without saying anything other than that, Vegeta followed her to the spaceship.

She immediately walked over to the back of the ship, where she had last seen the Capsules. When she didn't find them, she decided to look in the front of the ship. "Maybe in here," she mumbled to herself as she walked past Vegeta, to the front of the ship to look. "Ah," she squealed as she found the box with Capsules. She took three out, leaving two still untouched in the box. The others were full – Capsule #3 contained the gravity room, Capsule #2 contained her motorcycle and Capsule #1 contained the Dragon Radar. "Got them."

Bulma quietly followed Vegeta to their spacespods. "Here." She handed Vegeta one Capsule. "You press the button and then throw it to the object you want it to consume." She took one of the Capsules in her right hand, pressed the button and threw it at one of the spaceships. "Try it." She handed Vegeta one over and then showed him how to do it, again. "Got it?"

"Yes, of course I got it. I've fought countless battles, handling a Capsule is nothing." Vegeta snapped, before snatching the Capsule from her hand.

Bulma only smiled.

Vegeta took a quick look at the Capsule first before pressing the button and throwing it to the remaining ship. "Told you I could do this, woman," said Vegeta smugly.

"You must be the smartest of the three," Bulma laughed as she put the Capsules back into the box.

"You could say I'm the smartest Saiyan _alive_."

"Oh please," Bulma laughed again. She took the Capsule from Vegeta's hand an put it inside the box too. "I think it's time for us to go if we want to arrive home before dawn."

"What do you mean, woman?" Vegeta asked, a quizzical look on his features.

"I mean, that the spaceship is almost out of gas which makes it fly slower."

"Haven't you heard that I've mastered Istant Transmission?" He sounded mad. "Haven't mastered it just to tell people about it. I can _actually_ transport people."

"Sorry that I don't keep track of all that you _can_ and_ can't _do, _Prince of all Saiyans,_" Bulma teased.

"Women on Planet Vegeta worship me like some God. They bow before me, and here _you_ are, mocking me."

"Guess what, Vegeta." Bulma looked at him playfully. She turned around then and slowly walked to her spaceship. "You're not on Planet Vegeta anymore."

"No kidding, woman" Vegeta mumbled as he followed the blue haired beauty. Vegeta then slightly nodded his head at his comrades, their cue to end whatever they were doing and head back to him.

Bulma captured her own ship with a Capsule and put the box away in her small bag_._

"Everything is settled then?" Goku's voice sounded.

Bulma turned around and faced her friend. "They're staying at Capsule Corp for a while. They can train in the gravity room, spar and I can measure their sizes for the armor."

"I'm proud of you, Bulma!" he softly friend-punched her on the shoulder.

"Makes two of us," she smiled. "Just make sure to check in once in a while. You know, when the time's almost there."

"I will, Bulma. Don't worry about that!" When Goku turned around to join the others, Bulma saw Yamcha approaching.

"Yamcha!" Bulma called. With the war with Frieza on her mind, Bulma didn't spend much time with Yamcha. He had also not much time on his hands as he spend every day training. And the strange thing was, that she didn't really mind. The last few months she felt alive – she felt kinda single, even though she had no clue as to where she stood with Yamcha or even if they were still in a relationship – and she finally had time to work on her projects without having to deal with Yamcha. And honestly she wasn't quite sure of her feelings anymore. She spend some time thinking about their relationships... the last year they spend more time arguing than anything else. Especially with him cheating and looking at other women. She always felt like Yamcha loved her for who she was – not because of her wealth. But she also realized that he also loved a whole shitload of other women at the same time. She just never really loved him the way she should. Not the way you should love someone that you want to spend your life with.

"Bulma!" he called back. "How is it, babe?" Yamcha asked.

"I'm good actually, you?" He leaned in to give her a kiss, but Bulma slowly leaned back avoiding the kiss. She didn't know why she did it, it just happened. She felt uncomfortable kissing him since she wasn't sure about her feelings for him anymore. And as she leaned back, she noticed it. It was tucked away behind his collar, but she saw it. A dark, deep purple piece of skin on his neck. A hickey. The most trashy and cheapest thing you could give a man. Bulma never gave him hickeys.

Bulma let her hands fall at her sides in defeat. That wasn't possible...

_He can't be cheating on me, _again. _Sure, he smelled different than he usually did, and we weren't having as much sex as we used to... but cheating on me, _again_... Wasn't that too far fetched?_

Bulma then sighed in defeat.

"What is it?" A slight frown appeared on his face.

"What is what?" Bulma tore her gaze from his neck and looked him in the eyes.

_Why didn't I trust my gut?_ _Why didn't I question his loyalty when I saw him coming out of the restaurant the other night, or when I saw him leaving the perfume store when I came home from Chi Chi's? Because I thought he could be different. Because I thought that he had learned from his previous mistakes._

"This," Yamcha chuckled, "why didn't you want to kiss me, Bulma?"

"I don't want to talk about this right now, Yamcha. Please," Bulma whispered.

"Is it him?" Yamcha glared at Vegeta. "It's him isn't it?"

"No! He has nothing to do with it, Yamcha." Bulma kept her town low, but she still noticed some of her friends staring. "People are staring, Yamcha. I'll call you to step by, okay?"

"Hmm," he mumbled. "Okay. But _do_ call me, Bulma."

"I will." She turned around abruptly, no hug no kiss, not even a smile. She was eager to end the conversation and she walked away from Yamcha. For the first time since she's met Vegeta, she _wanted_ to join him and his colleagues. "Do your thing, please," Bulma pleaded. She felt like bursting out in tears. She felt like cracking under pressure and all because of Yamcha.

"We have to be in contact in order for me to successfully transport all of you."

"Fine," Bulma mumbled. There was one thing she wanted to do before the fight with Frieza, and that was to get to take a look _behind_ Vegeta's mask of hardness and coldness; get to know his weakness, his limits, his _true_ self. He wasn't like Nappa and Raditz, who weren't afraid to show the nice side of themselves (even if those sides were limited). The thing was though, she wasn't sure whether the hardness and coldness was _really_ him, or just a mask to cover up who he really is.

Nappa and Raditz went to stand on Vegeta his right side. Nappa touched his shoulder and Raditz kept his hand on Nappa's shoulder. Bulma went to stand at his left, touching his wrist. She felt him slightly flinch at her touch, but he remained silent.

Vegeta lifted two fingers to his forehead. He closed his eyes and frowned deeply as he focused. It still took him a lot of power to transport. He still had a lot to improve.

And just like that they vanished from the open field and landed on the green grass in front of Capsule Corp.

* * *

_Bit of B/V action and also my longest chapter so far and I really liked writing it! As I already mentioned, this will contain some similarities to the original anime and this chapter is a good example. I just re-watched _Mystery Revealed_ and stole some things and put them in this chapter. I hope you liked reading it, as much as I loved writing it! Soo basically, the Saiyans now live in CC! Everything can happen from now on * wink wink *. So. yeah. Make sure to read the next chapter ^.^.  
Much love!_


	9. Break Up

AN: I don't own DBZ or any of the characters.  
May contain some similarities to the original anime.

* * *

_The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole, but true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she knows. _  
– Audrey Hepburn

* * *

**NINE: BREAK UP.**

Bulma walked towards the Capsule Corp mansion, with three Saiyans silently trailing behind her. Once the arrived at the huge front door, she pushed the key into its hole and pushed the door open. She then lead them to the first floor. "This is my parents' floor, don't worry they're on a cruise so you won't bump into them." She stopped at the elevator on the first floor. "We have a total of six floors. The first one is my parents' the second, third and fourth one are for guests and the fifth one is mine. Whatever you do, you never, ever, _ever,_ go to my floor."

"What's the sixth one?" Nappa asked her.

"My father's lab. Also off limits. If you want anything to eat you go to the kitchen. You can chose to all sleep on one floor, since each floor has four rooms."

"Sweeeet," Raditz smiled.

"If you need anything at all, I'll be in my lab. It's next to the gravity room, Vegeta'll show you the way."

"Speaking of which, I'm going to train. I suggest you two to do the same." Vegeta nodded at Raditz and Nappa before heading straight to the GR..

"You can say all you want, I'm sleeping," Nappa grumpily said.

"Me too," Raditz joined.

"Idiots," Vegeta mumbled, as he continued going down the stairs.

Bulma and Vegeta left the two Saiyans at the elevators, bickering about which floor they would take.

"Leave my gravity room in one piece this time," Bulma said as she recalled how the last time he went in – with Goku – she had spend a lot of time repairing the thing.

"Can't make any promises," Vegeta chuckled, remembering it too.

Bulma took the Capsule of the gravity room out of the box and threw it to Vegeta. "I'll be in my lab." Unlike Dr. Briefs' lab, Bulma her lab was added later to the house, thus making it possible for the lab to have two doors; one inside the house and one outside. The outside door was built in front of where the gravity room now stands.

"Okay, let's do this," Bulma sighed as she closed the door of her lab behind her. She put on her lab coat and kicked off her high heels. She put her bag with the Capsule Box next to her computer and took a seat at the desk. "First, the Dragon Radar." Bulma released the Dragon Radar from it's Capsule and plugged it into the computer. She had set up some new software to improve it. In a few hours the software would be fully downloaded and the Radar would be more accurate as to where the Dragon Balls were.

Bulma then moved onto the Rejuvenation Tank. Building the Tank was her priority. Bulma decided to use the metals she initially bought for the spaceship of Goku, for the Rejuvenation Tank. The metals were able to withstand incredible pressures, which could only come in handy, she figured.

* * *

Bulma had been working for hours when she heard a knock on the lab door. It was coming from the backyard. "Vegeta," Bulma mumbled.

_Who else was so crazy to be awake at this hour?_

She had just started bending the metals in the right forms, which took a lot of time and strength. And since her Tank was the shape of a cylinder, she had her work cut out for her. Bulma opened the door to the backyard and wasn't surprised when she found Vegeta at the door. "Done training already?" She left the door open and went back to work.

"Yes."

"So, what are you doing here?" She had invented a machine the size of an iron to heat strong objects. It gave her a few seconds to bend it the right way before turning solid. She had called it 'The HeatR'. Right now, she was using the device to bend the metals.

"I need some of your human food, woman."

Bulma tilted her head sideways. "I'm not your maid you know. The kitchen is near the living room, you know that."

"I'm a prince, woman. I'm not supposed to get my own food!" Vegeta yelled at her.

"Well, get used to it, buddy." She placed the HeatR on the metal, moving it from north to south. With the help of her blueprint she managed to find the perfect angle. Just when she felt the metal getting solid, she held it still.

"What the hell are you doing, woman?" Vegeta asked, his face emotionless and hard. He closed the door and walked over to Bulma.

Bulma, sweating and panting got on her feet and placed the two metals, she had bended, vertically. "The Rejuvenation Tank."  
The Prince watched the beads of sweat run down her throat and the slight blush on her face. She wasn't all too ugly. He quickly composed himself though, putting his mask of hardness back on. "Still not giving up on that dream?"

"No, of course not!" She took a step back to admire her creation. "It's beautiful!" She walked over to Vegeta and grabbed his wrist. She placed him between the two metals. Right now, she had to bend two more metals to create the perfect cylinder shape. The see-through metal would be used for the front, that way Bulma would be able to check on the patient.

"It's great, isn't it?"

"Whatever you say, woman.."

Bulma shrugged. "It's _genius_." Bulma walked over to the last piece of gray metal. She took a look at the blueprint for the angle. "Are you going to stand there or help me?"

Vegeta, who was caught of guard by Bulma's question, stubbornly remained on his spot. "What makes you think I'll help you, woman?"

"Oh, I get it," Bulma said, with a hint of flirtation in her tone. "You're not strong enough, I get it." She watched Vegeta and the moment she saw his reaction, she knew her plan had worked.

"Step aside, woman!" With a few strides he covered the distance between him and the scientist. "I'm the fucking Prince of all Saiyans," he muttered under his breath. "While you are a mere, weak, human, I'm a strong, invincible Saiyan."

"Okay, tough guy, I get it. Now help me out will ya." Bulma showed Vegeta the blueprint. "You see this line." Bulma pointed at the line on the blueprint and then at the line on the metal itself. She always checked the line on the blueprint in case she made some kind of mistake while drawing the line on the metal – which rarely happened. "I'm going to heat it and then you're going to bend it along this line before the metal turns solid. Clear?"

"Yes, woman! I've done more difficult things in my life."

"Yeah, yeah." Bulma smiled Vegeta's remark as she began heating the metal from north to south. "Okay, now!"

* * *

"I never expected to be done with this so soon!" Bulma took a look at the schedule she had made. "This is great." She'd just created a _huge_ advantage by finishing the Rejuvenation Tank so soon; she now had more time to work on the armors and even pick up on some of her her Capsule Corp duties.

"Can I have my food now?"

"Oh Kami, right." Bulma quickly took her gloves off and put the HeatR down. "I totally forgot." She glanced at her watch; nine in the morning. She had been working the whole night. "Do you think Raditz and Nappa are awake?" Bulma asked Vegeta.

"I think they'll spend the rest of the day sleeping," Vegeta coldly said as he followed the woman to the kitchen.

"No kidding..." The living room looked untouched. "Saiyans," she then sighed. Kami knows how long they could sleep and how much they could eat.

"Your weakling is approaching the house," Vegeta commented, his voice neutral and emotionless.

"What? Weakling? YAMCHA!" Bulma was paralyzed with shock. "Oh Kami, I forgot to call him!" How could she forget about Yamcha? It had been such a shock that he had cheated on her and yet she had totally forgotten! For a scientific genius, she sure as hell had her moments of absolute stupidity. She ran to the front door and opened it, to Yamcha's surprise. "Yamcha! I'm _so_ sorry!" she immediately exclaimed

"It's okay, Bulma! I called you a few times, but you didn't pick up," Yamcha explained. "I thought that something _bad_ might have happened." While speaking, Yamcha kept his eyes on Vegeta who was standing behind Bulma in the hallway.

"No, no, I'm fine, really."

"Glad to hear that," Yamcha smiled, "soooo?"

Then Bulma vividly remembered their last conversation. "Right. I need to speak to you... in private." She glanced back at Vegeta with a look that said _Behave_, before closing the door and accompanying Yamcha in the front yard. She and Yamcha had started dating ever since they were teenagers. At first he was afraid of women, but he quickly got over that phobia. He started to show _too much _interest in _too_ _many_ women Bulma thought. And _that_ she did not like. _At all_.

Sure, she sometimes thought other guys were cute and all, but she would keep it to herself when he was around. Besides, she _never_ cheated on him, _ever._ Ever since Yamcha did (twice!), she lived with a strange feeling in her stomach when being with him. She felt like she was with a stranger. The thought that he had touched another woman and that another woman had touched him disgusted her. Still, she took him back.

It wasn't until the last few months that she started to grow over her feelings for Yamcha. She loved him because he loved her for who she was, not for the money she had and that was why Bulma chose to stay with him. But she also knew, deep inside, that her time was running out. She was aging. It was time for her to settle, and who better to settle with than Yamcha? Right? She knew it was egocentric of her to only want to be with him, because she feared she wouldn't find anyone else, ever.

But as time passed she realized that it wasn't worth it. Why being with someone when that person doesn't make you happy? What's the point then? And on top all of that, he had been with another woman. Again.

"What was it you wanted to talk about, Bulma?" His voice brought her back to Earth, back to the present.

It was time for her to stop dwelling on the past and start making decisions. Real decisions. Mature decisions. "It's about _us_, Yamcha," Bulma started. "I don't really know how to put it."

"You're breaking up aren't you? And something tells me that _this _time it's serious."

"Yamcha, please, it's not that I _don't_ love you anymore, of course I do. But I'm not _in_ love with you. And it took me a while to notice, I guess," Bulma mumbled the last part. She watched him very carefully, making sure to catch every emotion passing through his face.

"How could you say that, Bulma! It's been _ten_ years! _Ten_! You can't do this to me, Bulma. You can't." He ran with his hands through his hair in desperation. "All this time, I thought that we were going to end up together after knowing each other for so long, and now you decide to quit? Why not quit years ago, if you knew it was never going to work out!?"

"Because I was really in love with you. Heck, you were my first boyfriend!"

"Bulma, please... don't," Yamcha whispered as he put his hand on her cheek. "_Please_."

Should she mention that she knew that he cheated on her again? Or should she end it without mentioning that? She gently took his hand in hers, before letting it slide away from her. She was just about to speak up, when his voice interrupted her.

"I knew it." He sounded sad. "Don't tell me it's him. Something tells me that it's him."

"What are you talking about, Yamcha?" Bulma asked him.

"Vegeta," now he sounded mad.

"Vegeta!?" Bulma's soft expression suddenly turned menacing. "VEGETA?!"

_How dare _he_ accuse _me_ of having feelings for someone else when _he_ had once again cheated on me!_

"I just thought that maybe-"

"I know about the other woman, Yamcha!" Her voice caught him off guard. "I saw the HICKEY, you dick!"

Now it was Yamcha's turn to be speechless. She knew? But, it wasn't like that... He still loved _her_ with all his heart. Should he deny? "Babe, babe!" His tone suddenly went very soft. "I don't understand? What are you talking about?"

Bulma pushed Yamcha's hands away. "Stop that!" She yelled. "Stop lying!" Her voice died at the end of the sentence. "I'm sick and tired of you lying to me, Yamcha!"

"It was a _mistake_," Yamcha eventually gave in. "A mistake! I want _you_! Only you!" Yamcha tried again to make contact with her by placing his hands on her shoulders. "Bulma, we've been together for years. You always accepted my flaws, Bulma... why not this time, please."

"Because I was a naive teenager, Yamcha! We both were! I had no idea what life would be throwing at me! I had no idea about the shit I'd have to go through! I had no idea you would cheat on me, THREE TIMES." She threw his hands off her shoulder. "I just can't do this anymore. I can't," Bulma whispered. "I just feel so down all the time."

"That's what partners are for. To lift the weight of each others shoulders, and I can do that for you!"

"You haven't done that in a while, Yamcha. Quite frankly, you've been adding some."

"Because I never see you anymore. You've changed, Bulma. All of this Capsule Corporation stuff changed you."

"That's what people do, Yamcha; they change. I changed. I _had_ to. For the sake of my parents, for the sake of the world. How do you expect to defeat Frieza, Yamcha? I'm almost cracking under pressure here, an no one seems to notice." Bulma walked away from Yamcha, ashamed of her tears. She wasn't the type to cry over her feelings very quickly. And doing so in front of Yamcha, while she had to show him she was strong, somehow made it worse. She sighed. "You're in love with a girl you met ten years ago," she mumbled softly.

"What's so wrong with that?" He followed her. He put his hand on her back, in an attempt to comfort her.

"She doesn't exist anymore." Bulma turned around and faced Yamcha with stone hard eyes. " And neither does the guy I fell in love with. Come on, Yamcha. You have yourself to blame for this."

"So this is it? Ten years, and you're throwing it away like that? I'm sorry, okay! I'm _really_ sorry..." He couldn't figure out why she wanted to end it, when all the other times she accepted his apology and got back with him.

"I have my pride too, Yamcha. I'm trying to end this, peacefully. I just hope that someday you'll find someone who will love you for the right reasons, Yamcha. And I hope you'll figure out what you want in life." This time it was her that sought comfort from him, and so she hugged him one last time.

He smiled, even though it took him a lot to. "Tell me, Bulma... is there someone else? Did you meet someone, just be honest?" _That had to be it._

Bulma reluctantly smiled back at him. "No, no there's not." And maybe there would never be anyone else. Maybe she'd end up with her parents' pet collection. "Yamcha," Bulma said. "You're still one of my best friends. We may not be together anymore, but I'm not throwing ten years worth of friendship away. Don't be a stranger, please. Come visit once in a while." She would always have a weak spot for the warrior. Bulma eventually pulled away from the hug, but held on to his hand. "And please, keep the little guy at bay." She gestured to his pants.

Yamcha gave the beautiful heiress a crooked smile. _Maybe, just maybe we would end up together still. "_For your record, he's not a _little guy! _And don't worry, of course I will, B."

Without saying anything further, the two of them parted. Yamcha went towards the gate and Bulma back to Capsule Corp. She was glad it was over, even though it felt weird. She felt free, somehow. She had been with Yamcha for ten years. Never had she been with someone else in the meantime.

It was when Bulma entered her home that she started to cry. Not very loud; just sobs and tears. _But why?_ Bulma thought to herself, _This was my decision... this is what I wanted_.

Vegeta, who had clearly been eavesdropping, slowly walked towards Bulma, eying her very carefully. "Pesky human. Never have I seen anyone_ cry_ over a _boy. Pathetic._" He unconsciously pointed at Bulma with the remote. Vegeta had decided to watch some television while waiting for the blasted female to finish conversing and _finally_ make him his well deserved meal.

"First time for everything, right?" Bulma smiled weakly.

"_Why_ are you crying over him?" Vegeta seemed astonished, "did he finally see you for the monster you are?" A sadistic grin appeared on his face.

"As a matter of fact, _I_ broke up with _him._"

"Why are you crying then?"

"You've found me asking that same question." She quickly wiped her tears away and regained her full sight again. She hadn't realized that Vegeta was standing so close to her. "But I don't expect you to understand, since you Saiyans don't even show the slightest sign of affection. Heck, you don't show _any_ emotion, except for anger and pride." She looked up, facing Vegeta.

"That's what makes us strong, woman. Look at you; crying over someone who's probably forgotten about you already."

"That's not true. Emotions aren't a weakness. They're a strength. And you won't ever realize that." Bulma put her hands on her hips, ready to take on the Saiyan.

"Say what you want, I'm not here the one crying," Vegeta mocked. How he _loved_ to press her buttons.

"No, your situation is actually worse... you have an alien warlord you can't beat plus he's telling you shit you have to do! And aside from that, you have a race you have to save, and meanwhile you're stuck on a planet, waiting for your doom." Bulma pointed with her finger on the Saiyan Prince's armor. "Oh yeah, your situation is _a lot_ better than mine," she answered sarcastically.

"Stop _mocking_ me!" He yelled at her. He grabbed her hand and threw it back. "On Planet Vegeta you would've gotten the death sentence for that!" The Prince took one stop closer to her, making her back away until her back eventually hit the wall. He couldn't believe her! After months she still thought she could talk to him like that! Didn't she know that he could turn her into rubble without breaking a sweat?! He was the Prince of all Saiyans, for crying out loud! "Don't push your luck, woman."

Bulma chuckled darkly as she escaped from his presence and walked past him into the kitchen. "I ran outta that a _long_ time ago."

* * *

_Sooo, I just wanted to warn you guys, because there's going to be a small time jump of a few weeks. And it's going to get _a liiiiiiittle _heated__.  
__Also, I saw one of the reviewers ask whether Goku is going to transform _before_ Vegeta... Well, I just want to keep it a surprise. But you're certainly not going to be disappointed!_

_Hope you guys still like it! And thank you so much for the readers that review, it really means _a lot_ to me!_

_Much love, xoxo!_


	10. Nightmares

AN: I don't own DBZ or any of the characters.  
May contain some similarities to the original anime.

* * *

_Love cannot be found where it doesn't exist, nor can it be hidden where it truly does.  
– William Shakespeare  
_

* * *

**TEN: NIGHTMARES.**

She couldn't sleep. Like always. With the date of her and Vegeta going to Bardock getting near, by the day, Bulma started to grow anxious. She still had a shitload to do and so little time to do it. Lucky for her though, her father insisted on releasing her from all her Capsule Corp duties for the time being. Right now she only had to install the main panel into the Rejuvenation Tank – and get the fluid – and get she sizes of all the warriors in order to create the perfect Saiyan Super Battle Armor.

Bulma simply put on a see through bathrobe over her lingerie. She didn't bother to put anything on since it was three in the morning, everyone was asleep and she'd spend the whole day in her lab anyways. She had pinned her hair half up, to keep it from falling into her eyes every time. On her way down she checked on every Saiyan, making sure they were fast asleep.

They were all asleep, except for the Saiyan Prince. At first Bulma thought he was talking in his sleep or maybe even sleepwalking. When she silently pushed the door open, she found him having a nightmare. A very bad one. He was sweating and panting and shaking his head from left to right.

"That's why you rarely sleep," Bulma muttered to herself. She wasn't used to seeing him in such a state of fear, and so it scared her a little bit. "Vegeta," she almost whispered at first. She shook him by the shoulders and then held his face still. "Vegeta, look at me! You're okay!" This time she raised her voice slightly. She pushed the heavy, warm, comforter of him and went to turn on the light of the personal bathroom.

_"Vegeta!" a stern, female voice sounded. "What did Frieza say!?"_

_The young Prince had snuck up on his parents' balcony after he heard about his father being summoned by Frieza. His father rarely got summoned by Frieza. And being the curious Prince he was, he couldn't keep himself from eavesdropping – since his parents wouldn't _ever_ tell him anything that had to do with Frieza, eavesdropping was the only way to get some information._

_His father stiffened. "It's about the boy," he spoke softly. The Queen put her hand on his shoulder, removing some of the tension._

_"What did he say?" Deep down she knew. She had always known. She had dreaded this day ever since Frieza laid eyes on her son._

_The King turned around to face his wife. His look was cold, emotionless."He wants the boy."_

_Vegeta's breath caught in his throat. He felt like he was falling from the highest tower of the palace, preparing for the fall, preparing for the pain, but it just wasn't coming. He just felt that eerie feeling in the pit of his stomach._

_"Send him away, then."_

_"If we do not give him the boy, he will kill _all_ of us."_

_"Then we will all die in honor, Vegeta."_

_"How can you say that! I cannot disappoint my people!"_

_"Then fight!" the Queen fiercely said. "I won't stand by and watch how my son is being taken away from me!" She pulled her hand back and walked towards the biggest window of their room, to look over their kingdom. A kingdom that was about to lose their Prince._

_"We _cannot _fight! We're too weak to defeat Frieza!"_

_The Queen remained silent for a few minutes before finally speaking. "I will not let him take away my son."_

_"Woman, haven't you been listening to me!? We _cannot_ defeat him!"_

_"Don't 'woman' me you imbecile!" She turned the king around by his shoulder. "Do you hear me, Vegeta! He will turn him into a monster!"_

_"Don't you command me, woman," The King scoffed. "And don't you think I know that."_

_"He will be turned into a _monster_," The Queen repeated, this time more soft and hurt._

_"I know that!" The King pinched the bridge of his nose. "I will save him."_

_"Save him?" The Queen questioned. "You believe you cannot defeat him, how do you expect to save him?"_

_"I will find a way, woman."_

_The Queen slightly raised her face, looking straight into her husband's eyes. "I will not stand by and let him go to waste. If you give your son away... you will not be my husband. Nor my King."_

_"That is enough, Eriva!" The King yelled in the Queen's face. The Queen though, didn't flinch an inch. These outburst were more than normal to her._

_"If you will not get my son back, Vegeta, I will _make _you."_

_"Are you doubting me, woman?"_

_Before the Queen could come back with a comment, their attention was drawn to the balcony, where a certain Saiyan Prince had made his presence known._

_"Father."The young Prince had heard enough. His patience had run out and his emotions had gotten the best of him. "Do I really need to go with Frieza?"_

_"Vegeta," his mother softly said. She walked over to her son and knelt next to him. "What did I tell you about wondering around in the middle of the night!"_

_"I had to. I heard about father being summoned... I wanted to know."_

_"Do not ever disobey orders, boy," The King coldly said. "Or you will regret it." He approached his wife and son, until he stood towering above them."You will go with Frieza."_

_"Just until your father is strong enough to defeat that nasty alien," his mother whispered into his ear, her hand stroking his hair._

_"But I don't want to go." Silent tears streamed down the Prince his face, leaving their marks on his dry face._

_"Dry your face, boy. No child of mine will be seen crying," the King said. "And what did I tell you about eavesdropping!"_

_"Quiet, Vegeta!" The Queen turned her attention back to her young son. "You'll have to go with him, until we can get you away from him and kill him, do you want to do that for your mother?"_

_Would he want to do that? He wanted nothing but to make his parents proud. Especially his father, who seemed to not be impressed by anyone or anything. His mother was another story; even though she was stone hard, she had a weakness for her son. And so he knew that making _her_ proud wasn't very hard. He'd do anything, _anything_ to make his father feel good about him. Even if it meant going with Frieza._

_But would he still look up to his father, knowing he gave him away?_

_"Yes, mother." Vegeta eventually answered. Vegeta pushed his face into his mothers hair an inhaled her scent. It calmed him._

_"I will come get you, son."_

_"Promise?"_

_"I promise."_

_"It's going to be okay, Vegeta," his mother then whispered. She continued stroking his hair and rubbing his back._

_But they all knew it wouldn't be okay. They all knew that their son would be turned into an evil puppet. They all knew that they will never stand a chance against Fieza._

"It's going to be okay."

It's going to be okay.

"Vegeta, it's going to be okay." He looked worse than she initially thought. He wasn't breathing; his face had turned almost purple. "Vegeta, you ass, come on!" she shook his shoulders more, hoping it would wake him. "You're safe!"

And with those words he woke up. Sort of. His lungs filled themselves with air, his eyes widened in terror. In his confusion Vegeta jumped onto his feet at the sight of Bulma. As a reflex he took hold of her throat and pushed her against the closest wall. It all went too fast for Bulma to follow.

"It's me, Vegeta, it's me!" She tried getting his hands of her throat, but failed miserably. "It's me you piece of Saiyan shit!"

Maybe it were her words, maybe not, either way Vegeta came back to his senses. He immediately loosened his grip on Bulma's throat, allowing her to breath again. He was speechless. No one had ever woken him during one of his nightmare, no one. That was, because almost no one knew he had them. The only people to have seen him through one of his nightmares, were Nappa and Raditz. Yet none of them ever woke him up. At first he would have them once a month, but the older he grew the frequently he got them, until he was afraid to go sleep and would train instead.

"What was that?" Seconds had passed before Bulma broke the silence. She felt his hot breath burning on her face. "_What_ was that?" Bulma asked again, after she didn't see Vegeta respond.

Vegeta quickly got himself together. He put his emotionless mask back on and regulated his breathing. "Nothing." Vegeta had his hands leaning on the wall, with Bulma's face in between.

"That wasn't nothing, Vegeta. What did you see?" Her voice sounded soft, almost broken.

"The usual," he shortly answered. He didn't know why, but he felt like he could tell her what happened, because he knew that she would never tell anyone nor show him pity.

"And that is?"

"Frieza." That name alone caused Bulma to shiver. "My father," he continued. Talking to her seemed to go with so much ease. _Why am I telling her the truth_

"Why didn't you tell me? I can help you." Bulma was genuinely worried about him. "Is this why you don't sleep?"

"Yes." Vegeta felt that unknown, warm feeling in his stomach again. The fact that it only occurred when the woman was nearby worried him. It was a while now since he had seen any attractive females – not that the female Saiyans were much attractive.

_Maybe that's it_, Vegeta thought, _She's attractive_, _that's the feeling I'm feeling._

He didn't fool himself though. He had seen other attractive women too, but never had he felt like this. This was different. This wasn't the way a Saiyan was supposed to feel! These were human emotions, that's what he knew for sure. They made him feel weak.

"I could make you some tea that could make you go back to sleep." She had to say _something_. The way he looked at her made her feel more awkward. She had no problem with him being so close though; she liked it. The strange, comfortable warmth radiating from his exposed upper body calmed her. She now watched him too. His lips, full, but dry. His skin, bronze and shining due to the sweat. His eyes, blackness.

"I do not want that, woman" he eventually spoke.

"Well, what do you want then?" Bulma whispered back.

_You_, Vegeta thought to himself. He touched Bulma's soft cheek with his right hand. She closed her eyes as he traced his sharp jawlines. Vegeta now held her face with his left hand too. He hesitantly came closer to her face until their foreheads touched and their lips brushed along each other.

She smelled like a field of lavender and she tasted like strawberries. Her skin felt like the first day of summer, and her lips felt like silk. Eager to have more of this creature he pulled her closer to him with his tail. It was as if she purged him of everything; Frieza, the people he had killed, the fear, the anger, the desperation. It was almost as if she consumed all of that and gave him warmth in return. Everywhere her slim fingers would touch him, his skin would burn in passion. He felt like he was on fire.

Bulma pulled back, allowing herself to breath. She ached for more, she ached for his touch. She wanted his lips to explore every bit of body she owned.

His lips traced her collarbone, her neck, her earlobe and then her lips again. Bulma pulled his hair in pleasure as he traced her curves. Vegeta let the thin bathrobe slip off her shoulders and then the rest of her body.

They both pulled away from each other at once as they realized what it was that they were doing. They watched.

He watched her vivid blue eyes, she watched his dark, black eyes.

The moment Vegeta had stopped kissing her, it all came back again. The worries, the desperation.

In the light of the bathroom Bulma saw the expression on his face. Was it regret? He was so hard to read since he never showed emotions. _But of course_, Bulma thought, _Of course he wouldn't feel the same way about me the way I feel about him. Of course not. This was Vegeta we were talking about._

"I ... have to go," was all Bulma could whisper. She quickly picked up her bathrobe and covered her body – not that it did much covering.

All the while Vegeta watched her every movement. He slowly loosened the grip of his tail around her waist. Was she really leaving? Did she regret it? Even though Vegeta never bothered to speak out what he thought, he didn't dare this time. No. He would never speak of _any_ kind of affection. Especially with this woman, this woman who had a grip on him no one had. He watched her leave his room. He heard how she hastily hurried downstairs, to disappear in her lab.

* * *

She didn't know how she pulled it off, but she pulled it off. It had cost her almost two weeks of sleep, but it was finished. Well, almost finished. She had broken some fingernails and lost a few hairs, but it was totally worth it. She examined the Rejuvenation Tank, first from further away, then from up close.

"Perfect." She went to look at the calender hanging by the door of the lab as she made her way to the door. "A week left before I'm off to Planet Vegeta," Bulma spoke calmly, letting the words sink in. "OH MY GOD," she then glanced back at the calender. "A WEEK. A WEEK!"

_Oh Kami. A week. That's going to be so much fun. Not._

By the time Bulma left her lab it was eleven in the morning. The moment she set foot outside the lab, all the thoughts rushed back and one especially; her kiss with Vegeta. Honestly, it was nothing. He hadn't been with a woman for a very long time, Bulma figured, and so the kiss was simply a satisfaction of a desire. And as for Bulma; she had missed the sensation of kissing, really kissing. "It's nothing," Bulma whispered to herself.

She just couldn't fathom how gentle he had been. She had expected him to go rough on her and not care about whether he was hurting her or not. She was also shocked at the severity of his nightmares. They were unlike anything she had ever seen. The fact that the Frieza figure were in them increased her fear for the unknown creature.

_Pathetic_, Bulma thought, _How could I be afraid of something I had never seen in my life. Something I know nothing about._

Bulma shrugged her thoughts about the Saiyans and Frieza off. "No stressing today," she mumbled, as she headed to the kitchen. She heard the booming laugh of the Saiyan Nappa. "Morning," she spoke. Raditz and Nappa were sitting at the kitchen table, with practically everything edible she owned, on the table. "Good to see you left me something," she spoke as she opened the empty fridge. The only thing left in it was a carrot.

"We don't really like carrots, you can have it." Raditz laughed.

Bulma turned around to look at the Saiyans. Apparently her look was enough to turn the tables. "Kidding," Nappa quickly spoke, a smile on his face. "Take a seat."

"Why thank you." Bulma all too nicely said. "Anyway, how did you learn to make breakfast like this?" It wasn't the best breakfast; boiled eggs, bread, peanut butter and jelly, milk and some other things that were certainly not meant for breakfast like cake and cookies.

"Zhe blond boman," Raditz said as he stuffed his mouth full.

"Ah, my Mom." Bulma smiled at the thought of her Mom. So nice, always. Bulma watched the Saiyans eagerly fill their stomachs and found herself not hungry. Bulma pushed back her chair and stood up from it.

"You haven't eaten anything, woman!" Raditz exclaimed.

"The more for us!" Nappa eagerly bit the flesh off of one of the chicken wings.

"I'm afraid there won't be 'more' if you keep up this pace." She walked to the door of the kitchen. "I'm going to go grocery shopping," she said. She _never_ went grocery shopping. _Ever_. It was up to her mother, but since she was on a cruise with her father she had the responsibility to do it. Besides, she was done with the Rejuvenation Tank and the _last_ thing she wanted was cross paths with a certain Saiyan Prince. "Try to keep the house clean and whole, please."

"Don't worry, we're going to train in a few minutes," she heard Nappa say as she walked up the stairs to go to her room.

Even though she was determined to do anything to _not_ bump into the Saiyan Prince, Bulma couldn't help but sneak a peek when walking past Vegeta's room.

Just as she expected though, she found it empty.

* * *

_I kinda based the name Eriva (Vegeta's mother, Queen of Vegeta-sei) on a vegetable named_ **Er**uca Sat**iva** _(a leaf vegetable with a strong, spicy, peppery flavor). I just wanted to keep that tradition intact. And I always kinda pictured that Vegeta's mother was very feisty too, a little bit like Bulma – so that's why I chose this vegetable; it's strong and spicy._

_I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Much love, and review!_

xoxo!


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